Revenge
by Mistress-Neko
Summary: [Complete] Sequel to Anguish, summary inside. No Epilogue! Rating may change in later chapters Warning! Implied rape in future chapters!
1. Coming of Spring

[Summary] Sequel to Anguish, my other story about Drizzt Do'Urden. It starts in the spring after the events of Anguish, right before their wedding. ^-^. An old enemy comes back, waiting for his revenge on Drizzt, but Catti-brie gets caught in the crossfire. What will Drizzt do about all of this? What happens to Catti-brie that she's scared to tell her new husband about it?  
  
[Disclaimer] I do not own the characters created by R.A. Salvatore. AKA I do not own Drizzt, Catti-brie, etc. I do, however, own Mikhail (yes, he is in this one), Gabriel, Serenity, and any other extra characters that I have thrown in here. I also do not own any of the song lyrics that I might use.  
  
[A/N] I'm really sorry that it has taken so long to put this up, but the plot bunnies had abandoned me for the longest time! I missed them! All I could think about was Lord of the Rings and other shit for the longest time. **pout** Sorry! Hope you like the sequel! R&R!!  
  
Chapter One – Revenge  
  
She looked into the mirror, a worried expression on her face. Catti-brie couldn't remember another winter in her life that had ever passed so quickly. Spring was right around the corner, and with it, her wedding. They had been planning for it since they had arrived back in Icewind Dale. Several months of careful planning and she couldn't wait to see how it came out in the end.  
  
A shy smile crossed her face as she thought of her fiancée. It had been so long since he had been captured by the drow. It had been difficult in the past few months, especially after he had finally admitted to Catti-brie, what had been done to him while he was in captivity. She had been horrified when he had told her what the bounty hunter's son had done to him in that tiny, underground cell. Without thinking, she had wrapped her arms tightly around him, offering comfort, since she knew that he was still having nightmares about those events.  
  
But, of course, those weren't the only things that had happened over the winter. Delly and Wulfgar's infant son was growing fairly quickly, and looking more and more like his father every day. Catti-brie enjoyed her visits with the small family, enjoying her time with her 'niece' and 'nephew.' Colson was growing into a bright little girl.  
  
Something was missing though, the young woman thought. Or rather, someone was missing. Catti-brie looked over at her dresser, a sad smile creeping onto her face as she saw the small, carefully made arrow that she had been given so long ago. She remembered how, right before they left for Icewind Dale, Mikhail had given one to both Drizzt and herself, wanting them to remember him.  
  
The small elfling had lost all his family and his entire clan in the fall, and Drizzt had rescued the little elf from death by risking himself. Mikhail had had a difficult time trying to get over the death of all his loved ones. During that time, he had grown closer to Catti-brie, and after he had come back, Drizzt. The smaller-than-average elfling had hugged Drizzt tightly around the middle, not wanting the ranger to leave him in Silverymoon.  
  
Catti-brie remembered how Drizzt had knelt in front of the elfling, holding the little one in his arms, lightly kissing his forehead. He had spoken something in elvish, a language that she did not understand, speaking quietly. She had wished that something could've been done so that the two could've seen each other sooner than they were. Lady Alustriel had given them enchanted mirrors so that they could talk to each other over long distances.  
  
"What're you thinking about, lady love?" The soft voice startled Catti- brie and she turned around swiftly, a small dagger at the ready, only to see her fiancée standing there with a small smile on his face. Drizzt stood in the doorway, arms crossed, leaning against the smooth stone of the doorway. "You appear to be deep in thought tonight."  
  
She sighed and turned back around. She had been thinking about a lot of things lately, especially about their pending wedding. Unlike Bruenor had assumed, she and she ranger had not yet slept together, as they were both waiting for the night of their wedding. Wulfgar didn't believe this either, but knew that it must mean something to the both of them or it would already have happened. No one except Catti-brie knew why Drizzt was so hesitant to do so before the wedding.  
  
"Aye, there be a lot o' things that I been thinkin' 'bout." She said softly, giving the black elf a slight smile. "A lot o' things."  
  
Drizzt walked into the room, a thoughtful expression on his ebon-skinned face. Catti-brie had been rather quiet lately, and their sparring matches didn't have their normal spark in them. He had been worried about and was wondering about what had been going on in her mind over the last few weeks. They had only recently finished with the wedding plans, and, with Alustriel's help, had sent invitations to people to come to the event.  
  
Many people had been invited. Gabriel and Serenity, of course, along with their infant son, had been invited to come. The Harpels were coming, of course, as they had come to the drow's help many times over the last years. Danica, Cadderly and their children were coming, along with Ivan and Pikel; Cadderly would be performing the ceremony. Dwarves from Mithril Hall were coming as well. A lot of people were coming, and all they could do now, at least until the spring, was wait in anticipation until that big day arrived.  
  
And, of course, be fitted for the formal garments that they would wear.  
  
Drizzt made a face at that thought. He did *not* want to be fitted for another outfit. He could probably convince Alustriel to allow him to wear the garments that he had worn at the celebration last fall. But, if not, maybe he could at least convince her to bring the tailor that had measured him for the last outfit. The older man was quite good at what he did, as he had noticed when he saw the people staring at him at the banquet.  
  
"What's that face for?" Catti-brie asked, seeing the face that Drizzt had made. Almost instantly, the look wiped itself off his face, replaced by a playful innocent look. "No I know that somethin's on yer mind."  
  
Drizzt smiled, laughing softly. "I don't want to be measured for another set of clothing."  
  
Catti-brie chuckled. "I'll never forget that moment when ye first learned about havin' t' be fitted for yer clothin'."  
  
Drizzt rolled his lavender eyes, sighing and looking at her. "I wish not to go through with that again."  
  
Catti-brie smiled, remembering about that day. She remembered how he hadn't particularly liked having his body measured for clothing that he felt that he would only be wearing once. He had complained endlessly after he had been fitted, but afterwards, during the banquet, he hadn't been complaining. With a smile, she remembered that he hadn't exactly said anything about it afterwards.  
  
Catti-brie started when a set of ebon-skinned hands were placed gently upon her shoulders. Drizzt smiled down at her, lightly kissing her cheek. "I think that I should leave you for a while, since your mind clearly seems to be somewhere else at this moment, Lady Love."  
  
Catti-brie sighed, she knew that she would make no good when it came to conversation this night; her mind was in too many places. She nodded silently and watched her fiancée walk out the door.  
  
Maybe tomorrow.  
  
* * * * *  
  
[A/N] I hope you guys like this first chapter; now that the plot bunnies have come back, I may be able to get this on the way. REVIEW PLEASE!! 


	2. Hesitations

[A/N] Plot bunny attack. types ferociously will being pelted with random objects Alright! Alright! I'm typing! I'm typing! Here you go people . . . turns to plot bunnies geez  
  
Chapter Two – Revenge  
  
He scowled as he stood atop the pedestal. It had been two months since that afternoon, and Drizzt was still thinking about what might be keeping Catti-brie so lost in thought. At the moment, he was being measured by the same tailor that had measured him for the banquet in Silverymoon. Catti- brie was also being measured, but by a different tailor, the master's skilled apprentice. Lady Alustriel was watching him with a smile on her face that only made the ranger's scowl deepen.  
  
"What are you smiling about?" He asked, keeping the bitter edge out of his voice. She laughed. "It's about me, isn't it?"  
  
"Perhaps, friend, but maybe the image of you standing there with your arms out is also quite amusing as well." The scowl on his face, if possible, deepened. Alustriel only smiled as she watched her favorite tailor go to work. The outfits were being made ahead of time, so that they would be ready for the wedding, and they wouldn't be running around like chickens with their heads cut off when they began to get every thing ready for the wedding.  
  
"Well," he said softly, silently thanking Mielikke that he was finally able to put his arms down. "Things have been really stranger lately," his voice was quiet as he slowly pulled on his shirt and tunic, effectively hiding the deep scars from his time in captivity months ago. "Catti-brie's been rather quiet, thoughtful. Its as if she's hesitating over something, and I can't figure out what she's been so quiet about. I wish I knew."  
  
Alustriel's brow creased in confusion. That was completely unlike the Catti-brie that she knew. The dwarven-raised woman usually wasted no time in voicing her opinions and thoughts, not to mention, was always open to Drizzt when it came to talking about something that bothered her. The Lady of Silverymoon thought for a moment quietly. Drizzt looked at her with a thoughtful look in his lavender eyes. She had a feeling that he was silently asking her for her help, since she knew he would never admit it out loud.  
  
"I'll talk to her," she said quietly with a smile. "Maybe she'll talk to me."  
  
Drizzt smiled, the effect of it lighting his handsome face. "Thank you, Alustriel. I just can't believe that she hasn't opened up to me about it."  
  
"Neither can I believe it," she said softly, "neither can I."

  
  
"What did ye want to talk to me about Alustriel?" Catti-brie asked as she sat down across from the woman. Drizzt had left on patrols and Wulfgar had brought Delly, Colson, and their son back to their home, since they had been in the dwarf caves for about a month now.  
  
Alustriel smiled at the younger woman. She had a feeling about what she was hesitating to tell Drizzt what was on her mind. The lady began to speak quietly. "Drizzt is worried. He thinks that you have been rather quiet as of late, and that alone worries him. He fears that there is something that you are afraid to tell him about."  
  
Catti-brie sighed, closing her sapphire blue eyes. Alustriel watched the normally proud shoulders slump with something akin to resignation or something else. She could tell that the young woman was hesitating about something. Her voice was very soft when she spoke next.  
  
"I'm not sure if I'm ready to be the sort of person that stays at home permanently yet." She looked at the woman on the other side of the table from her. "I've been livin' on the road for so long, that I'm not knowin' if I'm ready to do that yet." She added in a softer voice. "I'm not thinkin' that I'm ready to be havin' a family o' me own yet."  
  
"And you haven't talked to Drizzt about this yet." Alustriel said quietly. Catti-brie nodded, looking down at her hands folded in her lap. "You should tell him, Catti-brie. He'll understand your hesitation." She smiled suddenly. "Besides, haven't you noticed the ring on his finger, the silver one?"  
  
"Yes," Catti-brie turned curious eyes towards the ruler of Silverymoon. "And I've been wonderin' why he's wearin' it."  
  
Alustriel smiled. "I gave it to him. It was enchanted so that if the two decided to . . . well . . . before the wedding, you wouldn't be filled with his seed, and come to be with child before the big. He was blushing through his black skin when I gave it to him, telling me that he had no plans to go that far before hand."  
  
"What did you tell him?"  
  
"That you never knew how far it would go, especially when you love someone as much as you two love each other." Alustriel smiled gently at the blushing young woman. "And don't act so embarrassed about it, Catti-brie. You know that he loves you more than anything else. Just accept it, Cat. There's nothing that he'd ever leave you for." She rested a hand on her shoulder. "He'll understand perfectly if you only tell him, Catti-brie."  
  
She nodded silently, not trusting her voice at the moment. She knew that she had to talk to him. He had the right to know about her hesitation at having a child. Alustriel left the young woman to her own thoughts. She knew that Catti-brie would make the right decision.

  
  
He lay back against his headboard. His thoughtful lavender eyes stared hard at the ceiling – at the many cracks in the ceiling. He had come back from his patrols late that evening and he had hesitated at going into Catti- brie's room. Drizzt wondered what was making her so quiet lately; why she was always thinking and staring into space. Catti-brie was normally quick and alert pretty much at every turn, hardly ever caught unawares, even by him; though normally she could only find him when he let her.  
  
The drow visibly jumped when there was a soft, familiar knock at his bedroom door.  
  
"Come in," he called softly, not looking at the door, still staring up at his ceiling. "The door's unlocked."  
  
Catti-brie opened and closed the door behind her quietly, blue eyes taking in the site of the drow before her. She knew that he was getting ready for bed; he had already removed his shirt, tunic, weapons, armor, cloak, and boots, and was wearing a loose pair of leggings (a/n: think of men's pajama bottoms) that had been made of a black silk, with a drawstring bottom that hung low on his slender waist. (a/n: that was the hormones talking, not me) His waist length white hair had been pulled back in a long, thick braid that ran down his spine, tied back with a leather thong. Catti-brie took this opportunity while he was looking up to look at him. His upper body was slender, muscles tight. Even though he seemed delicate on the outside, you could see the muscles playing beneath his skin whenever he moved.  
  
Sighing, Catti-brie tore her eyes from him, knowing that she had to tell him sooner or later. "Drizzt, there's somethin' that I be wantin' t' talk t' ye about."  
  
He turned his eyes to her. Smiling, he swung his legs over the side of the bed, walking over to her, wrapping his arms loosely around her shoulders. "I'm listening Cat."  
  
Looking for a place to start, she rested her head on his shoulder, blue eyes going over the scars left there. "Did ye ever think that we would have children together, after we got married?"  
  
He seemed to think about it for a while. "I don't know. All I wanted was to love you for whatever time we have together. I haven't really thought about children at all Cat. Though, now that you mentioned it, I don't think that I ever really imagined the two of us living together in a large home, little boys and girls running all over the place. Didn't seem right, looking at the two of us." He looked down at her, lavender eyes curious. "Why do you ask?"  
  
Now it was her turn to think. She had never really thought of it either, come to think of it. She had thought that he would want her to bear his children, but apparently he had never thought of it. Catti-brie smiled as she wrapped her arms around his waist, shivering as her hands came in contact with his bare skin; against some of the scars. "I had been thinking; that ye would be wantin' t' settle down and have children, but I'm not ready to have a babe, t' be a mother yet. I was afraid that yer reaction would be different from this."  
  
Drizzt smiled, rubbing her back slowly as he pulled back enough to look into her sapphire eyes. "I don't think that we'll have to worry about that happening, even after the wedding." He held up the ring. Catti-brie noticed that there were little etchings on the band that she hadn't seen before. They were done in brilliant green and violet; symbols that she couldn't understand. "If you were talking to Alustriel, she probably told you about this."  
  
Catti-brie smiled, lightly touching a thin and jagged scar on the side of his face. "She did. She be the one tellin' me that I should be talkin' t' ye."  
  
Drizzt had the grace to look embarrassed; heat rushing up his face and neck; clearly visible to Catti-brie, even through his ebon skin. "That was probably because I asked her to, when we were talking." He said quietly. "I was worried, because you've been so quiet and in another place for such a long time, and that's just not like you at all, to be like that. If I could've gotten you to open up any other way, I would've, but, well, you seem to talk better around other, well," – the blush deepened – "females."  
  
She laughed; it sounded like something that he would do. Catti-brie lightly kissed his cheek, still smiling. "Well, ye were right. It helped a lot, talkin' t' her." She pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. "Thank ye."  
  
Smiling, Drizzt kissed her forehead, running his fingers slowly through her hair and pulling her head forward until their foreheads touched. "You very welcome, my lady love."  
  
With one last kiss goodnight, they separated and Catti-brie left to go to her own room, leaving the drow's thoughts again calmed, thankful that she had finally come to talk to him about what was eating at her.  
  
[A/N] I hope that you guys like this chapter! Possible next chapter; wedding! That is, unless a different plot bunny bites my ass. Wicked grin. We'll have to see in future chapters . . . 


	3. Beginning Introductions

[A/N]

Thought that I'd start out with an introduction to the people attending the wedding, especially when it comes to Gabriel and Serenity. Enjoy!!  
  
Chapter Three – Revenge  
  
He stood on the top of Bruenor's Climb, lavender eyes scanning the sky. Drizzt had been watching for the arrival of the Luchiélt people, led by their High Lord and Lady for the last few days, knowing that they would likely be the first to arrive. He knew that Catti-brie and Serenity had been communicating with each other using messenger birds over the winter. Catti-brie was looking forward to seeing how their infant son was doing.  
  
A smile lit his face as he saw the dozen small figures that he had been watching grow larger and form familiar shapes. The ranger knew that they were the group that was coming; he had learned to recognize the flying figures. His smile widened and he waved back as he watched the silver headed leader wave at him, calling out.  
  
"Ranger Do'Urden!! Lady Battlehammer!! It's wonderful to see the both of you again!!"  
  
Drizzt waved, but turned around and smiled even wider when he saw that Catti-brie was indeed walking down the hill towards him. She was waving to Serenity by the time that she reached his side. Smiling, she wrapped her arm securely around the ranger's slender waist, resting her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders.  
  
"And yourself, Lord Gabriel, you are looking well." He smiled and clasped arms in greeting when the group landed. Serenity carefully readjusted her hold on her infant son, smiling contently. Drizzt noted that she certainly looked better than when they had last parted. "I trust that you are doing well also, Lady Serenity."  
  
She smiled at him. "Very much, thank you, Ranger Do'Urden. You are doing better as well, the cuts are only scars now, I hope?"  
  
"Yes, Lady Serenity. They are now only scars, and the memories are . . ." he looked for the words in his mind. ". . . fading, and only rarely do I find that they haunt me at night."  
  
The Luchién woman looked at him suspiciously, but turned away to talk with Catti-brie. Chatting quietly, the two women walked away, another one of the Luchiélt following her Lady. Drizzt watched with a smile as the friends left; Gabriel smiled knowingly at the look on the drow's face.  
  
"Is it true that these dreams only haunt you in your sleep every now and then, Ranger Do'Urden?" He asked quietly, watching through his scrutinizing violet eyes the reactions that the ranger had to the question. "Or are you merely saying that to keep her from worrying over you?"  
  
"A little of both," he replied quietly, turning to look into those piercing eyes. "Come, I'll show you where you will be bedding down while you are here, and it'll be outside, since we can't fit you all in the mines."  
  
Gabriel looked suspiciously at him, like his wife had, but decided to let it go, knowing that the drow would stubbornly refuse to answer correctly. He followed the black elf, signaling to the others that they were to follow him.

* * *

"He's a beautiful little one, if I ever saw one, Serenity." Catti-brie smiled at the young Luchien women as she looked at the eight-month-old that she held in her arms. The infant had inherited his father's silvery hair and his mother's brilliant green eyes, and was looking up at her curiously. He giggled and smiled, waving little fists in the air. "Gabriel must be a proud father indeed."  
  
Serenity smiled. "He is. He's very proud of Adrian. He spends every moment that he can with him. I don't think I can say that I've ever seen a more perfect example of fatherly love. Except," she smiled, "probably the way that Drizzt treated that little elf that he saved from certain death."  
  
Catti-brie only smiled; her thoughts now in a whir. Had Drizzt actually thought about children, but had perceived that she was ready, so he hadn't pressed the matter? He had become very perceptive of her feelings since they had been engaged, but she couldn't tell if he was or not. It was all very confusing. Smiling down at the infant in her arms, the young woman didn't know if she was so sure about not having children with her beloved or not. What would she tell him, that she had just changed her mind, after such a short period of time? What would he think of that? Sighing, she tried to push away those thoughts.  
  
"Is something bothering you?" Serenity asked quietly, lightly touching the young woman's shoulder, green eyes worried. "You seem distant this night."  
  
She sighed. Serenity seemed as perceptive as Drizzt was; she could easily tell that something was horrible wrong. "I don't know what to do any more, Serenity." She said softly. "A few days ago, I thought that I wasn't ready t' be settlin' down and havin' children o' me own just yet, but now, I not be knowin' whether or not that be true. I told Drizzt that I wasn't sure about havin' children and he was fine with it, but now that I've changed me mind, I don't know what to do."  
  
Serenity smiled gently. "You have put yourself in quite a predicament. I don't know what to tell you, but to talk to him again. It won't bother him any, you've seen the way that he is around children."  
  
Catti-brie smiled slightly at that, handing the now fussing Adrian to his mother. "Ye're right. I, I just don't know if I'm ready to tell him this soon afterwards."  
  
Serenity only shook her head as she slowly nursed her son with a contented smile on her face. "Well, whether you are ready or not, I can tell you that, even though getting through the nine months, and the child's birth is difficult, in the end, its always worth it. To be able to see something so small and precious, and knowing that it came from you . . . its amazing."  
  
Catti-brie smiled, lightly touching the suckling baby's smooth cheek. Her mind made its silent decision; she had to see Alustriel, and as soon as possible.

* * *

Catti-brie smiled when she walked back out of Alustriel's room. They had talked for about an hour, trying to figure out exactly what the young woman had been requesting. But eventually, they had figured it out and it was all good.  
  
On their wedding night, Alustriel would cut off the magic surrounding the ring that Drizzt now wore on his finger.  
  
She didn't know why, but she didn't want to tell him about it; she wanted to make it a surprise, but she wasn't sure how he would take it. She only hoped that things wouldn't take a turn for the worst when he did find out. A slight smile on her face, the young woman walked back to her room to get some sleep. Only a few short weeks until the wedding; a few short weeks until they were bound together for eternity.

* * *

[A/N]

Sorry that these chapters haven't been very long . . . they'll probably begin to pick up once I start to get into it more. Or maybe my Drizzt bunnies will come back soon . . . my Harry Potter ones have been predominant lately . . . sorry. Please review! They tend to feed the plot bunnies . . .


	4. New Arrivals and Spies

[A/N] Here's another chapter . . . yet again, the wedding is being delayed due to extremely hyperactive plot bunnies. Thx Kurai Catt! One question though . . . did you put sugar on those carrots? N E ways, on with the introductions!  
  
Chapter Four – Revenge  
  
About a week before the wedding, Drizzt walked down the mountain paths to find Catti-brie standing and watching over the towns. Smiling, he walked up silently behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, resting his face besides hers, their cheeks touching.  
  
"Are you waiting for someone, Lady Love," he said softly, looking towards where her eyes were watching. "I believe that all the guests have come and are waiting for the wedding." His brow creased in thought. "But do you believe that someone is missing?"  
  
She smiled at him, lightly kissing his cheek. "Aye, there be someone missin'. Alustriel said that he should be arriving today. I know that ye should be eager t' be seein' him, especially since its been so long since ye did see him last."  
  
"Who is still coming?" He asked quietly, looking into her eyes. Her smile widened.  
  
"Mikhail should be arrivin' soon, this day, in fact."  
  
A brilliant smile lit the drow's face and he looked eagerly over the horizon, his eyes finding the spot that Catti-brie had been looking at minutes ago. Catti-brie laughed at the excited look on his face. He looked more like a child than anything with that expression. They stood for what seemed like hours before three dots appeared over the grassy plains. The smallest one began running across the ground, splashing through puddles of mud still left there.  
  
Drizzt walked down the mountain paths with Catti-brie behind him, walking out to meet the overly excited elfling. Mikhail, seeing the ranger, gave a cry of delight and sped faster over the wet, soggy grounds. At the edge of the grasses, he jumped into Drizzt's arms, speaking rapidly in elvish. Drizzt laughed as he listened to the elfling talking about all that he had done over the winter with the small family of elves that had taken him in.  
  
Catti-brie came down the hill a little while later and Mikhail squirmed until Drizzt let him go and ran into the woman's arms. He spoke to her rapidly in common, a language that he was able to speak fluidly now after a winter in Silverymoon. While he was talking to her, two elves came over the grassy plains and laughed at the elfling's enthusiasm. Drizzt recognized the two and greeted them warmly.  
  
"Rumíl, Milrän, its wonderful to see you again." He smiled and clasped arms with Rumíl in greeting. Milrän smiled, her hand going to her stomach. "I'm glad that Lady Alustriel chose a wonderful placing for the elfling, after all, Rumíl, you were part of a clan that had had close ties with his."  
  
"Aye, and he's been a fine one to watch over, don't doubt it." His green eyes sparkled as he placed an arm around his wife. "Very well behaved, and is always eager to learn something new, especially when it comes to archery."  
  
Catti-brie watched as Drizzt spoke with the two elves. The male was the same height as the drow with long dark hair and brilliant green eyes, his skin pale, milky white. The female was smaller than he was with clear blue eyes, knee-length gold hair and smooth, golden skin. The young woman could tell that they were husband and wife by looking at them. Mikhail walked besides her, small hand in hers, as he led her over to them, explaining that they were the ones that he had been living with all winter.  
  
"Her name is Milrän and his name in Rumíl. He's my cousin! He says that he knows Ame and that I'm like her!" Mikhail was saying excitedly. "And Milrän is goin' t' be having a baby in the fall," he stopped for a second thinking, "or is it goin' t be in the winter? I can't 'member."  
  
Catti-brie chuckled at Mikhail's rapid talking. He had changed since they had last seen him. Upon their leaving, he had been quiet and had followed a close adult around most of the place, afraid of being out on his own. But now, he was more outgoing and seemed more comfortable around other people. She was glad of the change, it was for the better.  
  
"And congratulations to you also, Ranger Do'Urden." Rumíl smiled at the drow. "The Lady told me of your engagement. I am happy for you."  
  
"And I you, Rumíl, Milrän. A child is a wonderful gift."  
  
The group slowly began to walk back to the caves where they would find room for the last of the guests. They talked the whole way, or at least, Mikhail talked most of the way, moving back and forth between Drizzt and Catti-brie.

....

Catti-brie looked in the mirror as she got ready for bed. She still couldn't believe it. Less than a week and she would be married. A small smile crossed her face as she looked at the wedding gown hanging in the corner. Alustriel had helped in creating the designed and in gathering the materials. It had taken nearly a week for the tailor to finish it. Alustriel had also given her a circlet to wear at the wedding. According to the Lady of Silverymoon, Drizzt would be wearing one that was similar.  
  
Sighing, she wrapped a robe around herself, shivering. That night, as she was leaving the hot mountain spring she had been taking a bath in, she had noticed Drizzt walk into the area. Surprised, as he normally washed early in the morning, she had stayed behind, hiding in a clump of trees.  
  
= Flashback =  
  
She watched as he slowly removed his weapons and armor, followed closely by his shirt and tunic. Her eyes widened slightly as she the numerous scars on his back from the month he had been in captivity. She had never noticed all if them before. They criss-crossed over his entire back and his shoulders, marring the once flawless skin.  
  
He sat down on a stone and removed his boots, setting them carefully next to his neatly folded clothing. Catti-brie had to stifle a giggle as he watched him slowly dip his toe into the steaming water, the tip of his tongue visible between his lips. Apparently satisfied with himself, the ranger the ranger looked around before removing his leggings. Catti-brie closed her eyes as she listened to him slip into the water with a soft splash. Once she knew that he was in, she turned and watched him again.  
  
Drizzt removed the leather thong that he used to tie his waist-length hair back, shaking out the thick white locks. He leans his head back and Catti- brie notices when he has bent all the way back, that there is a strange looking scar on his abdomen. It is composed of three different markings. The top most comes just below his belly button (a/n don't have a better word for it) and appears like a thin crescent moon with the lower point curving downwards. The second marking is like part of a ribbon, twisting and curving to go lower than the first. The third and final marking was a long line that curved underneath both of the other two and disappeared under the water. The scars were a strange silvery bronze color. They stood out starkly against his ebony skin.  
  
When Drizzt was again standing strait, she noticed that there were what seemed to be claw marks on his left shoulder that were the same color as the ones on his belly. Beneath his right arm, curving upwards towards his collar bone, there was another set of curving scars that disappeared under his arm. Catti-brie continued to watch was he brought out a small bottle of a liquid, similar to one of the bottles that Alustriel had given to her. The liquid was used for washing your hair, though the young woman had a feeling that Drizzt's was scented like flowers, like hers was. He lathered it through his long hair, digging his fingers into his scalp. Catti-brie realized with a start that she couldn't stop staring at him.  
  
With his arms lifted up like that, it stretched out his entire upper body, bringing out his tightly packed muscled into a stronger perspective. She had never really allowed herself to just sit and stare like she could now, without his knowing. The water came up to a low point on his waist that made Catti-brie blush slightly. She was slightly nervous about their wedding night. Never before had they gone that far. Yes, holding each other close on cold nights, a kiss or a gentle caress, but not to . . . well . . . that point.  
  
With a start, she realized that he was getting out of the water and she was still staring. Heat crept up her neck and face as she looked at his backside. Without another thought, the young woman left the springs behind, heading back up to the mountain halls.  
  
= Flashback Over =  
  
Catti-brie blushed as she remembered what she saw. She remembered the deep scars on his thighs and thought about what he had told her had happened. She now knew that it had hurt more than that and had caused more damage. She sighed as she looked into her mirror. He was still hiding that from her. But then . . . it had pained him deeply to recall those memories when he had talked about it, and he probably hadn't wanted to elaborate. She knew that he would open up more eventually, but had a feeling that it would be a long time.

....

[A/N] I hope that you guys liked this chapter! This plot bunny attacked my after I saw Troy for the second time. Drools. Yes, I know. I'm sorry that I haven't updated in a long time, but I've been attacked my millions of other plot bunnies that have nothing to do with anything else in this. Backs away from mob slowly. I'm sorry! I've been attacked by little half dog demon named Inu-Yasha that wants me to write about him! SORRY SORRY SORRY!!! And please, Review! It'll make Drizzt come back to me!! 


	5. Vows?

[A/N]   
Hey, hey! I hoped that you people liked my last chapter! Grin. I know I did!! Well, here is the wedding, those bunnies finally overwhelmed me and were throwing rotten carrots at me. Blah. Nasty bunnies. Takes out 22mm shotgun. Well, enjoy! Thinks for a second. AND REVIEW!!!!  
  
Chapter Five – Revenge  
  
"How're ye doin' Cat?" Delly asked quietly as she walked into the young woman's room, and hour before the ceremony. "Ye're lookin' nervous."  
  
Catti-brie smiled slightly as she looked down at her hands. Yes, of course she was nervous. What bride wouldn't be? She was binding herself to someone for the rest of her life-someone that would live for centuries after her death. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, closing her eyes. When she opened them Serenity had just entered the room, a knowing smile on her face and her infant son bouncing happily on her hip in a sling.  
  
"I know how you feel." She said softly, settling the baby in her friend's lap and pulling back some of the hair from Catti-brie's face. "With all those people watching...it's difficult. When Gabriel and I were married, we had the ceremony in private, but later we had had one in front of the rest of the people, more like a symbolic wedding. It was a lot more difficult the second time."  
  
Catti-brie listened as she played with the little Luchiélt boy. He played with a little carved figure that his father had made and given to him. She smiled as she heard little Adrian giggle happily. Serenity spoke quietly to the young woman, with Delly adding in some comments of her own as the Luchién women placed her auburn hair into careful braids.  
  
"It was nerve wrackin' when I be marryin' Wulfgar." She said quietly, holding her own son as he giggled and laughed at the toy that had been carved out of scrimshaw by Regis. "Only, there were less people there, and it was...well...different t' be marryin' a barbarian man."  
  
Catti-brie chuckled slightly. The talking was easing some of her nerves. Some, not all. She was still trembling slightly as Serenity carefully placed the circlet of silver upon her brow. The diamonds that had been placed upon it glittered and sparkled in the light that filtered in through the tent flap. Tents had been erected on the field where the wedding was to be held. So far it had been a perfect day-the birds were singing and flowers were in bloom, standing in with their brightly colored petals. There wasn't even a cloud in the sky.  
  
"I just can't believe that everythin's been happenin' so fast. It seems like only yesterday I had a week until the wedding...until, well..." Her voice faltered slightly as she began fiddling with the edge of the silk sleeve of her gown. "I don't know why though..."  
  
Serenity laughed softly as she realized what the young woman was talking about. "All brides are nervous about their wedding night with their husbands. It's only natural, unless of course, the bride has already spent a night with her husband before the wedding." Catti-brie noticed the blush that had crept up the Luchiélt High Lady's neck and into her pale cheeks. "I was the first time I was with Gabriel. But..." She hesitated before adding this. "...He was gentle; like he was afraid I would break. If they truly care for you, than you'll be able to tell."  
  
Catti-brie blushed at the mention of that. Yes, that was probably the thing that she was the most nervous about, yet it still sort of embarrassed her.  
  
... ... ... ... ... ... ...  
  
In his tent, Drizzt was faring no better with his own bout of nerves. All these people...suddenly he wished that they hadn't invited so many people to the wedding. Maybe they should've held a more private ceremony in another, smaller temple. He leaned his hands against the small table that had been placed there with a modest wash bin and pitcher of water. He looked up to stare into his reflection. His lavender eyes showed the hesitation that he felt deep inside of him. Why now? Why was he hesitating now?  
  
"Nervous?" The soft, familiar voice made the ranger start violently, not having noticed the person entering the room. "It's only natural."  
  
Gabriel chuckled as the drow turned a mock glare on him. Drizzt frowned as Gabriel chuckled. He hated it when the Luchién Lord read his mind without his noticing it. It could be rather disturbing at times.  
  
"I suppose that you came to try and calm my nerves?" The ranger said, beginning to pace back and forth, twining a lock of white hair between his fingers, since with the circlet already in place, he couldn't run his fingers through it as he normally did when nervous. "Or are you only here to read my mind?"  
  
Gabriel chuckled. "Nay, my friend. I am here only to tell you that Cadderly has said that it is time for you to make your way to the alter, as the ceremony will begin in about fifteen minutes."  
  
Drizzt swallowed audibly and followed the Luchién High Lord out of the tent that had been erected. There were people gathering and beginning to sit down in chairs that had been setup before the tall arch that would serve as something for them to stand under during the ceremony. It was made of white marble, with carvings of roses that looped and swirled around the entire arch. Other flowers, like baby's breath and tulips were also carved into the magnificently carved archway. A master painter had painted the stems, leaves and flowers, making the images and carvings seem so real.  
  
"The last week went by so quickly." He said softly to himself as he looked around, trying to still the fine trembling that had started in his body.  
  
"It always seems to do that when you're really looking forward to something." Gabriel gave a small smile of understanding as he looked back at the drow. "Or, even if you're not looking forward to something."  
  
"True."  
  
With that final word, the Luchiélt leader walked off, leaving Drizzt standing at near the archway, with Cadderly walking towards him with his usual attire of tan pants and tunic with a sky blue cape and leather boots. He had removed his hat for the ceremony. His young eyes sparkled as he looked up at the ranger. Drizzt's lavender eyes widened. The spell that had been upon was indeed reversing. Cadderly looked as if he was only seventeen now!  
  
... ... ... ... ... ...  
  
"Come on, Catti-brie," Danica said eagerly as the young woman slowly walked from her tent. "The wedding is going to begin soon!"  
  
Catti-brie nodded slowly, not trusting her stomach enough to open her mouth. Gods! She had never been so nervous in her entire life! It felt as if the butterflies in her stomach had increased in both number and activity! She swallowed thickly as they made their way to the field. Bruenor walked out of the back isle, wearing his mithril armor, ready to walk his daughter down the isle and give her over to her husband. She smiled slightly when she reached him. The smile grew when she saw Mikhail and Colson standing together; ready to go down the isle before them as the Flower Girl and Ring Bearer.  
  
At the almost exact moment, the music began to play and the two young children began to walk down the isle, Colson a few feet ahead of Mikhail. She was wearing a little white dress that had dark blue ribbons along the edges. On her head was a crown of little violets with blue ribbons going through her black hair. Mikhail wore a dark blue tunic and leggings, his pale blonde hair pulled back from his face with little braids and a silver circlet on his brow. Catti-brie smiled as she watched them both.  
  
When they had reached the archway, the music slowly changed cueing for her to begin her walk down the isle. Drizzt was already standing in front of Cadderly, facing her, with a gentle smile on his face.  
  
... ... ... ... ... ... ...  
  
Drizzt had to resist the urge to opening gape at Catti-brie. His nerves and hesitations disappeared as a smile appeared on his face as he watched her walk down the isle.  
  
Her auburn hair had been pulled up in a complicated twist of braids with small, delicate curls on the sides of her face to her bared shoulders. A circlet of mithril rested on her forehead and thin earrings of pearl hung from her ears. Around her neck she wore a necklace of pearls. Her eyes had been lined with a thin layer of dark blue powder, bringing out the deep color of her eyes.  
  
The dress was made of creamy white silk and edged with white diamonds and sapphires, sparkling in the sunlight. The bodice pulled tightly against her slender, delicate feminine curves and fell in soft, silken waves to just barely brush the ground. In her hands she held a dozen roses that had been enchanted to become the same dark blue of her eyes.  
  
She smiled at him, the butterflies in her stomach suddenly disappearing. Ever since that night, at that banquet, she had been wondering if she would ever see him wearing something that was so fitting for nobility.  
  
The tunic and leggings that he wore were made of silver clothe and the under-tunic was of a pale lavender that matched the color of his eyes. His boots were of white leather as was the belt he wore. A mithril circlet encrusted with tiny, pale amethysts rested upon his brow and three thin rings of the silvery gold metal looped though the upper point of his left ear. A cloak of a dark, rich violet hung over his right shoulder and was pushed back from his left. The clasp was a star of the finest craftsmanship that she had yet seen.  
  
As her and her father reached the archway, her smile widened as she took his outstretched hand, stepping away from Bruenor. She stepped in place besides him, her fingers loosely entwined with his. His smile widened and he gave her a loving look before they both turned to face Cadderly. He smiled at the couple, noting the deep love between the two of them.  
  
... ... ... ... ... ... ...  
  
[A/N]  
Well, I'll leave it at that. Laughs. I am so evil. Review if you want to find out what happens!!! Shares mischievous grin with plot bunnies. What? 


	6. Wedding Night

[A/N]  
Well, I've decided that I'm going to continue, so I hope everyone enjoys this short, though fun, (hint, hint) chapter! R/R please! Grin.  
  
Chapter Six – Revenge  
  
"I do." Catti-brie said softly, but firmly, unable to keep the wide smile from spreading across her face. These were the words that she had been waiting to say all her life to someone, and now, the moment had finally come. She couldn't have been happier. And by the smile that was spreading across Drizzt's handsome features, it was probably the same for him, also.  
  
Smiling knowingly, Cadderly said another blessing and watched as the couple placed the rings on one another's fingers. He smiled at the love in their eyes as they looked at each other.  
  
"I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride."  
  
The crowd cheered as their lips met in a searing kiss. Catti-brie smiled inwardly as she wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling the drow's hands wrap securely around her waist. He wished that that moment would've last forever, that he would've been able to hold her like this forever.  
  
When they finally separated, they both smiled at each other, laughing softly as they looked out over the crowd. Smiling broadly, Drizzt took her hand and pulled her behind him as he ran down the isle, through the exuberant crowd.  
  
Nothing could be more right.

* * *

Later that night, the feasting and celebrating was still going on. A glade had been cleared and there were lights strung around, lighting the makeshift dance floor. The feast had gone smoothly, and so far the dwarves had been behaving themselves. Catti-brie had made Bruenor promise to keep them in line, or feel Taulmaril shoved up his arse. People were dancing and singing, though a lot were fixed on the newlyweds, dancing slowly and looking into each others' eyes.  
  
Lady Alustriel whispered softly to herself, making small movements with her hands underneath the table.  
  
As people laughed, Drizzt leaned in and whispered something into his bride's ear.

* * *

"What do you say we leave this party behind, Lady Love?" He asked her softly, his breath warm against the side of her face. "After all, we have the right to be alone together this night."  
  
Catti-brie smiled as he lightly kissed her, his forehead touching hers. Laughing softly, she kissed his cheek. "I believe so, me ranger." She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing herself closer to him. "Besides, I don't think we'll find anyone who'll not like it."  
  
Chuckling, Drizzt slowly led her off of the dance floor, a mischievous grin on his ethereal face. He brought her away from the edges of the field, in a direction that she didn't know what to expect in. When she asked about where they were going, he only smiled slightly.  
  
"You'll see when we get there."  
  
Catti-brie looked at him, surprised. She hadn't seen him this excited in a while. She followed him through the woods, one hand lifting up the long hem of her dress. The cool spring air was cold against her bare back. After a while, she recognized that they were heading in a direction that she now recognized. It was towards an area that was fairly close to the hot springs.

* * *

"It's beautiful, Drizzt." Her eyes were wide with surprise and awe. "But, how'd ye find it?"  
  
He smiled, wrapping his arms around her shoulders from behind. "I didn't just find it, Cat." He smiled when she turned her head to look at him in surprise. "Bruenor insisted on building it as his wedding present for us. I only had to find the right place for it."  
  
Before them stood a modest, two-story home, newly built. It was made of a pale stone, with dark colored doors and window shutters. There was a beautiful garden on the side of the house with a small pond of water complete with a small fountains, a panther as the main centerpiece. There were two different porches, one on each floor. The one on the second floor was open to the sky, and had a white railing. The one on the first floor was directly underneath the one on the second floor, with a roof over the top if it. Drizzt smiled widely as he watched her look over it closely.  
  
"I said that we wouldn't have needed on that big, but he insisted on having enough room for plenty of grandchildren." Catti-brie blushed. Smiling softly, resting his chin on her shoulder, he continued. "Though, when I told him that it would likely be a while before we thought about the concept, he only smiled and said that he would be waiting."  
  
Drizzt looked at her curiously when she remained silent. "Do you want to see the inside?"  
  
Catti-brie looked up and smiled slightly. "Of course I do. Let's go."  
  
Smiling, the drow led her through the door and into the hallway. She was amazed at the craftsmanship that had been put into all of this. On their right was the kitchen, which led into the dining room. On their left, was the sitting room that they could use for guests, and next to that was a room that was large enough that it could be used for sparring and target practice. And upstairs, he said with a small smile, was where the bedrooms and guestrooms were. There was one Master Bedroom and three smaller bedrooms. One guestroom had also been added.  
  
"And so far, the few dwarves that built it are the only ones that know where it is." He frowned slightly for a moment as he led her up the stairs to show her the upstairs rooms. "Except that Serenity insisted in coming out and doing some decorating on her own."  
  
Catti-brie smiled at that. It was something that she knew that the young Luchiélt would do. Smiling contentedly and looking around at the hallway in the upstairs, she laid her head against his shoulder. "He also already had them decorated in preparations for a child," his brow creased slightly in confusion. "Though, these were styled by the Luchién, not the dwarves."  
  
When she looked up, she realized that it _couldn't_ have been her father to design this room. He was incapable of it, especially such intricate and yet soft designs that edged the room, and the carefully formed runes. A light blush found its way across her already flushed cheeks as she looked sheepishly at her new husband, who was still looking at the room curiously.  
  
After a while, he turned his attention back to her and smiled, an unfamiliar light glimmering within those lavender eyes. "Why don't we go and see the Master Bedroom, after all, it's the only room that we haven't looked at yet."  
  
Catti-brie smiled and followed closely behind him. When they reached the bedroom, he allowed her to enter first, and she gasped. There was a large four poster bed with a dark-colored canopy, likely black. There was a down comforter on the back that was black with small silver tracings around the edges. The pillows were blue and violet silk and there were two separate wardrobes on either side of the room. The walls were covered with black, blue and violet tiles. The floor was a dark, well polished wood that shone in the soft firelight emanating from the fireplace in the corner  
  
The corner of the comforter and sheets had been pulled back, showing the blue and violet silk sheets beneath. So intent was she at looking at her new surroundings that she jumped when she felt his hands come to rest lightly on her shoulders and his breath warm against her bare neck as he laid a gentle kiss at the base of her neck. The feel of those velvety lips pressed against her skin made her shiver in soft delight and she leaned into the touch.  
  
"What'd you think, Lady Love?" He asked her softly, looking into her sapphire blue orbs as she turned her head to look at him. "Serenity insisted on the colors, saying that you would enjoy them."  
  
"I do, me ranger." She said quietly as she turned around to face him, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck, her fingers quickly becoming entangled in his thick, stark white locks. "It's absolutely wonderful." Catti-brie smiled and kissed him. "I love it."  
  
He smiled back, leaning close to her. "I'm glad, Cat." An unfamiliar emotion flickered to life within those brilliant lavender eyes. "And now . . ."  
  
He pressed his lips against hers in a searing kiss, his hand lightly tracing the side of her face. Catti-brie moaned softly into his mouth as his tongue lightly brushed across her lips.  
  
Her hands moved to the collar of his tunic, swiftly beginning to undo the buttons that laced the front. His shirt quickly followed. Sighing softly, she ran her hands up his smooth, muscled torso, his skin warm and alien to her touch. Slowly, she ran her hands over his shoulders and down his arms, allowing the silvery silk fall to the ground. She shivered as his hands gently began to pull the dress from her shoulders, pushing it down slowly. Catti-brie moaned in pleasure as he began to kiss and lightly nip his way down her neck.  
  
Her skin was soft and smooth beneath his fingertips as he lowered his lips to the base of her throat. Any hesitations that he had once had were quickly disappearing as her fingers traced the scars lacing his back. She gasped in surprise as he gently forced her onto the bed, his mouth lowering . . .

* * *

[A/N]  
Well, now that we're finally off to a good start . . . REVIEW!!!!!!!!! Or else I'll be holding off a lot longer . . . . evil cackle


	7. Plans

[A/N]  
Well, I'm bored and the plot bunnies are rearing to go . . . . Well, here's another chapter!  
  
Chapter Seven – Revenge  
  
She woke up to the feel of strong arms holding her tightly and the feel of warm, bare flesh pressed against her own. Catti-brie smiled slightly in remembrance as she looked up into the face of the peacefully sleeping ranger. She again pressed her head against his strong shoulder, not wanting to move from where she was. Drizzt sighed softly in his sleep, his arms tightening around her unconsciously.  
  
She looked around the room from the proximity of his arms, curious as to why the room was still so dark. A faint smile appeared when she saw the black curtains on the windows that threw the room into a nice, twilight. He had probably already thought about that when looking at the room decorations. Not wanting to awaken him, Catti-brie started to run her fingers lightly through his white hair, brushing it out of his sleeping face.  
  
He looked so peaceful. His breaths were soft and even, warm against her face. Comfortable lying in his arms, she allowed herself to think about what had happened the night before. A blush accompanied her smile as she thought about his hands, his tongue, and his lips on her flesh. Looking down, she noticed some of the red bruises that marred her chest and stomach. Looking at him, she saw that there were similar bruises on his chest and neck, undoubtedly given by her during the night.  
  
Just the memory made her shiver with the thought of it happening again. _I never thought that he could be so wild, and yet, he was always careful, I could tell._ She thought with a stifled giggle. _Well, it was the first time for both of us, considering._ A small frown marred her features as her eyes looked into Drizzt's sleeping face. _But,_ she thought, _after what happened to him, I didn't expect him to be that, well, eager.  
_  
After a while, Catti-brie felt him move and smiled when he opened his eyes slowly. She leaned over and kissed him, laying her head in the crook of his neck.  
  
"'Bout time ye woke up." She said quietly, looking into his still bleary eyes. "The sun's been up for a while now."  
  
"It has, has it?" He asked, smiling softly at her. She giggled softly as his lips lightly sucked her throat. "Well, then we'll just have to wait until tomorrow morning to watch then, eh?"  
  
"Of course we will, unless we end up sleepin' in again because of the night's activities." Catti-brie said with a smile. She gasped as one of his hands lightly ran up her thigh. Drizzt laughed softly, kissing her again.  
  
"Well, then we'd better get it out of our system now, don't you think?" He asked when she had looked up again, her eyes darkened with pleasure. "Or else, we'll be over-straining ourselves once again."  
  
"I couldn't be agreein' with ye more, dark ranger . . ."  
  
(A/N: This is where the plot bunnies come in)  
  
A long ways away, a red-haired human walked into a prominent inn in the city of Silverymoon. After looking around for a few seconds, he started to move towards a private table in the corner where a slender being sat, cowl pulled low over his face with the shadows hiding the rest of his features. His ankles were crossed on top of the tables. Two weapons had been belted to his waist and there was a tall mug of ale on the table in front of him. He looked up when the man sat down.  
  
"Well, McGristle, I was wondering how long it would take before you sought to contact me once again." The faint glow of the person's teeth as he smirked was visible beneath the cowl. "After all, you saw how well my men took care of the renegade last time."  
  
"Yes, but he's been doing fine since the incident, hasn't he?" The bounty- hunter frowned, ordering a mug of ale from the bar wench. "Not to mention, he's still alive, elf."  
  
The smirk faded from the elf's face. "I had no idea that the woman had escaped alive, and was able to get to his companions, especially after all we did to her. How was I supposed to know that those people cared enough about that scum to come after him? He's a drow, after all."  
  
"Aye," the man said, taking a swig of the alcohol. "But, this has only proven that there are people that trust him, that care for him, and that he cares for back. What happened to him didn't harm his soul enough, and I doubt he would care if he got killed himself."  
  
The mercenary looked at him suspiciously from beneath his hood, regarding him carefully. "What are you getting at?" He asked slowly, bringing one hand slowly to his belt, where it was in easy reach of his weapon. He leaned forward. "What are you planning, McGristle?"  
  
The bounty hunter smiled wickedly, looking into the eyes of his companion. "I want to cause him pain, pain that will burn in his soul forever. I only need your help to do it."  
  
The elf's smirk was just as wicked as he leaned his arm on the table. "No, we're getting somewhere. Tell me, how are we going to do this?"  
  
Taking another swig of ale, the human began to speak. "Rumors say that our renegade ranger is married . . ."  
  
  
  
[A/N]  
Aren't I evil? _Insane laughter._ Well, I had to get the plot going somehow, and this was what came to mind. Shrug. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens, won't we? _Insane laughter that fades as time goes on._


	8. Hidden Surprises

**[A/N]  
** Well people, plot bunnies are getting hungry, so people should probably start reviewing . . . I'm fresh out of carrots to give them, even though they've done a really good job so far._ Ducks as the angry bunnies start throwing things at the author._ What! I was complimenting you! Sigh. Oh well, on with the story!  
  
**Chapter Eight – Revenge**  
  
Catti-brie walked away from the small home on the outskirts of Lonelywood, a smile on her face. It had been three months since the wedding and things were better than she had hoped. In a few days, she and Drizzt would be leaving to go to Silverymoon to visit Alustriel and Mikhail. They were both looking forward to the trip.  
  
At that moment, the drow ranger was running about on his normal patrols with Wulfgar. The representative of the small town was relieved and grateful that the ranger had agreed to help with the safety of the place. Delly was going to meet her at the home that she shared with Drizzt, with Colson and the little boy. The thought of the two children made her smile fondly.  
  
She walked through the woods that led to the hot springs near her home, relieved that the day wasn't very hot. In fact, Drizzt had said that morning that it would likely storm that night, judging by the slowly darkening clouds in the sky. Catti-brie smiled when she approached the home and the four-year-old Colson ran out, laughing and calling to her.  
  
"Ant Catty!" She yelled as the young woman scooped her up into her arms, hugging her tightly. "Guess what, guess what, guess what!"  
  
"What, what, what?" She responded, laughing at the little girl's excitement.  
  
"Mama said that I'm gonna have anotter brotter or sister soon!" She squealed, jumping up and down the second that Catti-brie had set her down. "She said that the baby will be comin' in the winner!"  
  
"Really?" Her blue eyes widened slightly as she watched Delly walked out of the house, smiling slightly. "I'm very happy for ye." As she got closer to her, she whispered softly. "And when did I hear of this?"  
  
Delly laughed, heat creeping across her face. "It was goin' t' be a surprise fer me husband, but this little one's goin' t' ruin the surprise." She whispered back, careful to be out of her daughter's earshot. Once they got into the house, she lowered her voice more, not wanting anyone else to hear her. "And what did Liana say?"  
  
Catti-brie blushed, a small smile on her face. "I'll tell ye 'bout it when those two have gone to take their naps." She indicated Colson and the sleepy boy in Delly's arms. "That way these two won't be hearin' anythin'."  
  
Delly chuckled. "I guess ye're right. Colson's been talkin' a lot more than normal."  
  
Smiling, the young woman took a complaining Colson and an already sleeping baby boy upstairs to the guest room where the two children would be able to take a nap, and the two women would be able to talk in peace. Ten minutes later, she was walking down the stairs with a smile on her face. Catti- brie finished with the tea and led Delly to the sitting room where they could wait for their husbands to come back from their patrols.  
  
Sitting down in a chair, Delly was the first to ask her question. "So, tell me what the midwife told ye."  
  
She blushed at the question that the other woman had been dying to ask her since she returned. So far, only Delly and Serenity knew about what had happened on their wedding night – what she was waiting to surprise Drizzt with. "She be sayin' that, for bein' this far gone, everythin's fine."  
  
"How far are ye Cat?" Delly asked softly, smiling at her friend. "How far along is the babe?"  
  
"Three months." Catti-brie took another sip of the warm tea. It was fairly chilly, especially for a summer afternoon. "I only be 'bout three months along."  
  
Delly smiled. "I still can't wait to be seein' the look on his face when ye tell him, Cat. Drizzt will be surprised, don't ye doubt." She laughed softly as she sipped her tea. "Especially since he won't be expectin' it either."  
  
Catti-brie laughed. "O' course he won't be expectin' it. With that ring o' his, he wouldn't be assumin' that it had happened at all." Heat crept up her face and neck as she talked. "But, I'm goin' t' wait 'til we're in Silverymoon t' be tellin' him. It'll be visible by then. He'll be able t' tell easier."  
  
Delly's knowing smile widened as she took Catti-brie's hand in her own. "I have a feelin' that he'll be happy 'bout it. I know he will be."  
  
A sudden knock on the door startled the two women and their conversation was cut off as two familiar voices drifted in from the front doorway – one a deep baritone and the other light and melodic. After a few minutes Drizzt and Wulfgar entered the living room, each taking a seat next to their wife. Drizzt wrapped his arms around her shoulders and lightly nuzzled her neck. She giggled – he knew no much she was ticklish in that spot. Delly smiled as she was buried in the much larger arms and body of her own husband.  
  
"We should be leaving soon. The winds are already beginning to pick up, and the rains will be quick to follow. I think that it would be a good idea to get home before the storm hits full force." He raised his pale blue eyes to meet those lavender ones of the drow ranger. Drizzt nodded his agreement. They had talked on the matter on their way to the drow's home.  
  
"It would be a good idea." His voice was soft and his arms tightened ever- so-slightly around Catti-brie's shoulders, resting his chin on her shoulder. "It's not that I don't want you to stay here . . ."  
  
Wulfgar chuckled and smiled at his wife. "I know, friend. I think it best to be going home anyway. It's been a long day." He kissed Delly on the cheek. "I'll get Colson and Kilun. You get ready to leave."  
  
Without another word, they rose from their seats, smiles on their faces, and began to quickly get ready and leave Drizzt and Catti-brie rose with them, to wish them farewell. After a few minutes, Wulfgar came walking down the stairs, Colson in one arm, and the little boy on the other – the boy sleeping peacefully still. Catti-brie smiled as she hugged the little girl and kissed the little boy goodbye. Colson gave Drizzt a goodbye hug before going back into her father's arms and curling against his chest, falling asleep quickly. She probably was tired, Catti-brie thought as she watched the couple walk out the door. After the family of four had faded from their site, Drizzt slowly closed the door, smiling back at his wife.  
  
"How are you feeling Lady Love?" He asked quietly, walking over to her and wrapping her in a gentle hug. She leaned into the warm embrace, enjoying his comforting presence. "You weren't feeling well this morning before I left."  
  
She only smiled, wrapping her arms around him and leaning her head on his shoulder. "Much better, thank ye, but I haven't eaten anythin' all day."  
  
He smiled, kissing her lightly on the forehead. "Then I'll make something for us to eat. Probably something simple, like a plate of fruits and bread. Is that alright with you, Lady Love?"  
  
Catti-brie smiled as she looked at him. "That'll be fine, thank ye."  
  
His smiled widened and he kissed her. "Alright then, why don't we spend the evening in the front porch? Light a few candles and with those comfortable couches, it'll be a very nice evening. Just sit together and watch the rain fall and the lightning flash." He whispered softly in her ear, his breath warm against the side of her face. "And with just the two of us..."  
  
Catti-brie laughed as she separated from him reluctantly. "Alright, but hurry up, I don't want t' wait fir too long for ye."  
  
Still smiling, Drizzt walked into the kitchen and looked around at the room before beginning to make the meal. The tiles were dark blue with little silver symbols on them. The counter tops were dark, highly polished wood. A modest stove and over stood in the corner and there was a small door that led to the cellar, where the foods that needed to stay cold were kept. The cooking utensils were hanging on hooks around the walls.  
  
Sighing softly, he began to prepare a platter of foods for them to eat while they sat out on the porch. A slight frown marred his smooth features as he thought about that morning, a few weeks after the wedding . . .  
  
_= Flashback =  
  
He walked into the house, closing the door quietly behind him. He had gone to see the sunrise that morning, and hadn't wanted to disturb Catti-brie, who had been sleeping peacefully when he left. The door to their room was closed, as he had left it, and when he opened it, he was surprised to find that Catti-brie was no longer in the room. Listening closely, the ranger's curiosity peaked when he heard the sounds of someone retching coming from the privy room just off of their bedroom. Worried, he made his way over to the privy and knocked on the door, calling out softly.  
  
"Lady Love, is that you?" He asked quietly, leaning against the door.  
  
The retching stopped for a minute as a soft, miserable voice spoke back. "Aye, me ranger."  
  
Drizzt bit his lip as the retching continued. Worried, he opened the door and walked in to find Catti-brie leaning against the wall with her head bowed over the chamber pot. Lavender eyes filled with worry, the drow rushed over and knelt by her side, lightly touching her forehead to check. Her skinned burned beneath his fingers and she leaned into the touch, closing her eyes. Without another thought, he pulled her close and held her tightly. He whispered soft words in elvish – she didn't know the language, but the sound of the sweet words would be soothing.  
  
"I'm not feelin' well." She said miserably and she curled against his chest. He smiled slightly.  
  
"That's a bit of an understatement."  
  
Catti-brie frowned as she looked up at him miserably. Sighing and closing her eyes, she leaned against his shoulder, exhausted and sick. "I'm not thinkin' that I'll be doin' much t'day."  
  
Drizzt lightly kissed her temple and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her head. After a while, he noticed that she had fallen into a feverish sleep, tossing and turning. Smiling slightly, he lifted her up carefully and carried her over to their bed. After pulling back the covers, he laid her down and covered her warmly.  
  
With one last smile, he left to go downstairs and make some tea for her when she woke up – hopefully it would make her feel better.  
  
= End Flashback =  
  
_That hadn't been the only morning that he had found her ill in their privy, and he wasn't sure if it would be the last. When he had brought her to the healer to see what was wrong, the middle-aged woman had taken her into a separate room and had spoken to her alone. When they left, Catti-brie had had a small smile on her face, even though she still hadn't been feeling well.  
  
He sighed as he tried to figure out what that meant. He had a feeling, though he wasn't sure, and the ring should've prevented that. _But,_ he thought, _she had said that she didn't want to have children, at least not yet . . .  
_  
_But what if she really had?  
_  
Sighing, he banished the thoughts from his mind.  
  
Sometimes it just confused the hell out of him.  
  
**  
**  
"Our plans have been delayed." The cloaked and hooded figure looked around at the group of his companions. "We will have to wait until they begin their journey."  
  
One of the gathered drow looked at the leader in open disgust. "Why do we have to wait until then? Why can't we just hunt down and kill the wench now? We'll get our money sooner!"  
  
A chorus of agreements sounded through the small hall that the group was assembled in. Kelnozz glared around at the drow in his band, one hand coming to rest on the whip at his side. Without warning, he shot it across the fire pit and slashed deeply into the soldier's arms. Angry crimson eyes glared up at him, but he met them all with and even, red gaze.  
  
"Yes, but we want to watch him suffer, remember?" He brandished the whip, eyes hard. His familiar sardonic grin crept across his face and he smiled wickedly. "We want him to pay for what he did to our companions in the fall. We want him to pay for not letting up continue our torture that little elven brat. But, most of all, we want her to die because of her part in killing so many of our number!"  
  
A cheer rang up in the halls and Kelnozz's grin widened. _My plan will finally work,_ he thought, _and Drizzt Do'Urden will pay, along with that pitiful human woman of his.  
_  
**  
**  
Catti-brie's attention turned to the doorway as he husband walked through, smiling and carrying a tray that had a variety of fruits, two large chunks of fresh, warm bread, and a couple pieces of cheese. Two steaming mugs accompanied the prepared food. He carefully set the tray down on the coffee table that was in front of the couch before sitting down next to her and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. She smiled as she snuggled into his side, enjoying the warmth and comfort that he gave off.  
  
They ate in silence, both of them watching as the rain fell and the lightning flashed. Drizzt looked at her as she ate, and noticed how tired she seemed. The illness that had lasted since a few days ago must've taken a lot out of her. She was still pale and a little weak, but other than that she seemed fine.  
  
Catti-brie smiled warmly at the worried expression that was on her husband's face. Sometimes she wondered why he was so worried about her. Sighing softly and leaning her head against his shoulder she asked quietly.  
  
"Is somethin' wrong, me ranger?"  
  
He rested his chin on the top of her head and sighed softly before speaking. "Nothing really, Lady Love. I was just thinking. That was all."  
  
She gave a small frown. "Is that all?" Her midnight blue eyes were filled with worry. She hadn't really talked much with him during the last few weeks and that always seemed to worry him, when she didn't talk about something. Biting her lip, she looked down at her hands, her cheeks flushing. "What are you thinking about?"  
  
He smiled, his lavender eyes sparkling. "That the last few months have probably been the best of my life, especially being with you, Lady Love."  
  
Her blush deepened as he lightly kissed the gently curving line of her jaw. Catti-brie sighed softly, leaning into the touch of those velvety lips. It felt so right. Moving her head, she turned so that her lips touched his in a searing kiss. _These last few months have been the best,_ she thought, brushing her fingertips along his jaw line, and against the scar on his cheek, _and I won't be forgetting them.  
_  
**[A/N]**  
O.O That was a long chapter! Sorry I haven't updated in so long, though the length of this chapter ought to help. Sorry! _Bows low._ Now that the bunnies are hyper, I might be able to get the chapters out faster! 


	9. Finally Leaving

**[A/N]   
**I hope that you people like this next chapter. I had had a hard time writing the last one, since I didn't really know what to say. Anyways, please review! It feeds the plot bunnies!  
  
**Chapter Nine – Revenge  
**  
Catti-brie smiled as she swung her pack over her shoulder. They were finally leaving for Silverymoon. After all this time of waiting, they were finally leaving. She knew that Drizzt couldn't wait to see how Rumíl and his wife were doing, especially now since they were expecting to have a child of their own. Mikhail was looking forward to being an older brother. Especially since he had been the youngest in his family, and all of his older siblings had married into other clans.  
  
"Lady Love, are you ready to go?" Drizzt's voice filtered through the open window of their room as she started down the stairs. "I have both of the horses."  
  
"I'm comin'!" She called, laughing. "Don't worry!"  
  
He smiled as he spoke quietly to the two horses that he had purchased for the trip. One of them was a tall, black stallion speckled with grey. He had a four-point star on his forehead and nickered softly when he ran his hand down his neck. The other was a dark grey mare and was speckled in white and black. She nickered as she nudged his shoulder, wanting attention like the other was getting. The grey one was likely the more mild-tempered one of the pair, but the black one wasn't very far behind.  
  
"They're beautiful, me ranger." Catti-brie said softly as she came walking out of their home. "They had t' be expensive, no doubt."  
  
Drizzt's lavender eyes sparkled as he kissed her lightly, smiling. "Not really. The owner was actually quite keen to be rid of them, though he didn't say why. I thought that they would be good for getting us to Silverymoon and back. After all, the black one's a rare breed."  
  
"What'd ye mean by that?" Catti-brie asked quietly as he helped her up onto the mare's back. "He seems like a normal horse t' me."  
  
Drizzt only smiled. "Do you see the star on his forehead, and the little spike coming from it?" She nodded as he sprang onto the back of the stallion, not bothering with a saddle. "He's part unicorn."  
  
Catti-brie sapphire eyes widened slightly. "How can ye tell?"  
  
The drow laughed softly as he led them through the woods. "I can feel it whenever I touch him. It's this strange sensation that I get, but I believe that I am correct in my guess."  
  
Catti-brie smiled. It was amazing sometimes how often his instincts were correct, even though he didn't normally trust them when fighting. She sighed as she watched him, not minding the view of his back. He had again braided his hair back. That way it would be easier to hide beneath his hood if he ever needed to hide his heritage, even if he didn't like it.  
  
A few wisps had escaped the waist-length plait and fell into his lavender eyes. When he felt her eyes at his back, he turned and smiled at her, trying to keep the stubborn wisps of hair out of his face.  
  
"Is their something that you want to talk about, Lady Love?" He asked her quietly as she pulled the mare up to ride next to him. His eyes were gentle as he looked at her. It had been a month since that huge storm, and he still thought that she was keeping something from him.  
  
**_= Flashback =_**  
  
_They watched the rain fall, wrapped in each other's arms – enjoying one another's presences. Catti-brie shivered as the cold wind touched the exposed skin of her arm. Smiling gently, Drizzt pulled a blanket from where it was on the back of the couch, pulling it around both himself and Catti-brie. She smiled as she snuggled into his side, enjoying the warmth of the blanket and his body. She hardly noticed when he wrapped his arms around her slender waist, one hand resting near her stomach.  
  
That was the hand that she noticed.  
  
"Cold, Lady Love?" He asked her quietly, nuzzling against her neck gently. She shivered slightly in response, curling closer into his side. "I'll take that as a yes." Without another word, he pulled her more tightly to him and laid his chin on top of her head as he felt her place her cheek in the crook of his neck.  
  
Should she tell him now?  
  
When he noticed that blissful expression that she got whenever she was thinking about something, he frowned slightly. Nuzzling gently against her ear, he spoke quietly.  
  
"Is there something that you want to talk about, Catti-brie?" The young woman looked down at her hands before smiling up at him.  
  
"No," she said softly, snuggling comfortably against his chest, and allowing her hand to rest comfortably across her stomach. "Everythin's alright. There's nothin' t' be worryin' about."  
  
His brow creased in worry, but let it go. She would tell him when she felt like it.  
  
**= End Flashback =**_  
  
Catti-brie looked up, startled out of her thoughts. It was then she realized that he had probably felt as if he had been kept in the dark, especially later on when she told him that she was pregnant with their first child, and was nearly four months into the pregnancy. She sighed softly, and tuned to looked at him, smiling slightly.  
  
"Actually," she said quietly as she felt him gently squeeze her hand. "There is something that I've been meanin' t' talk t' ye about. Only, I want t' be wait for a few nights. I've been meanin' for it t' be a surprise."  
  
Drizzt smiled, leaning over and lightly kissing her cheek. "That sounds, fine, if you don't mind my continual questions about what it is until then."  
  
She laughed as he almost fell out off of the horse for that little movement. "All I'm goin' t' tell ye is that ye won't be expectin' it."  
  
**  
**  
The wizard that worked in the group of mercenary drow looked up at their leader, a wicked smile spreading quickly over his face. He had good news to report and he didn't want to keep the head mercenary waiting any longer than he had too. He had walked quickly through the halls, recalling the conversation he had heard between the two, and the thoughts that he had read from the woman's mind. This was all too perfect for the master to resist.  
  
"What do you have to report, Ilmaîk?" Kelnozz questioned, one hand resting on the handle of the whip he carried – the whip that he had used on that cursed renegade for hours at a time. "And you had better be bringing some good news, you know what the consequences are."  
  
Ilmaîk smiled evilly up at the impatient drow. THIS time, he wouldn't be the one to feel the bite of that whip. "Oh, but I do, Kelnozz." At the wave of his hand, he continued. "They have started their journey already. They will be here within a few days, and we will be able to ambush them and capture the woman."  
  
Kelnozz smiled sardonically. There was something in the wizard's eye. "Is there anything eles?"  
  
Ilmaîk only smiled the wider. "Aye, the woman is with child. Four months gone, in fact . . ."  
  
**  
**  
[A/N]  
I am SO evil. _Cackle._ You'll have to review in order to find out what happens . . . 


	10. Attack!

**[A/N]  
** I got more reviews! Yay! I'm glad that SOME people comment about this._ Cough discreetly._ Yah, anyway, on with the story. BTW I read The Thousand Orcs again and I realize the mistakes I made in Catti-brie's accent. Sorry.  
  
**Chapter Ten – Revenge  
**  
Catti-brie smiled up at the stars, as if trying to memorize them. She knew that Drizzt had probably already memorized them, but he never bothered her when she was looking at them. Rather, he would just look at them himself and trace over the memorized constellations in his mind. The drow had always enjoyed looking at the stars – it seemed to have a calming effect on him.  
  
They had been traveling for a few days now, and were camping in the spot where he had been captured all those months ago. He hadn't exactly realized this until he had noticed the crossbow bolts that were still stuck in the trees from the fight. Memories of that month in forced captivity had flashed through his mind when he had seen those bolts. He once again felt the whips on his flesh and the touch of McGristle's hands in his skin. The feel of the blood running down his naked back was enough to make him shivered slightly in fear as he remembered those caves.  
  
Taking a deep breath he had tied his horse to the tee to keep it from escaping before going to collect firewood. Catti-brie had taken their supplies from the saddle bags, so that as soon as he got back, they would be able to make their evening meal. As she got the supplies out, a memory of another dinner setting made her laugh.  
  
At that moment, Drizzt walked out of the woods, placing the wood pile in his arms onto the ground. His lavender eyes looked at her with shock and curiosity as he walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her slender waist and lightly kissing the side of her neck, startling her. He grinned into her hair as she lightly swatted him upside the head, trying to hide her smile.  
  
"Why are you sneaking up on me like that?" She asked him, unable to hide her scowl any longer. The puppy-dog look on his face was priceless. She gave him a mock scowl. "Don't look at me like that."  
  
"Why not, Lady Love?" He said, smiling up at her, his lavender eyes sparkling with the glint that had become somewhat familiar since their wedding night. "I enjoy giving you this look."  
  
Catti-brie gave in. With that look on his face, she would never win an argument. All he needed were puppy-ears and it would fit the part (I've been watching too much Inu-Yasha lately). With a laugh, she turned back to what she was doing. Smiling, he slowly released her, but not before he had felt something suspicious. With a strange expression on his face, he continued walking over to build their fire.  
  
****  
  
Ilmaîk walked over to the lord, still panting ever so slightly. He had again been watching in the scrying mirror for any chance of the pair coming their way. He had good news to bring to their leader. News that would be appreciated.  
  
"How close are they, wizard?" Kelnozz asked as the said person walked into the room, smiling rather evilly. "Are they close enough yet?"  
  
The answer that Ilmaîk provided was well welcomed. "They have already arrived at the predetermined spot, and they have no idea that we're here."  
  
"Excellent. We attack tonight, when they're least expecting it."  
  
****  
  
"Where you learned to cook, I don't think I'll ever know, Ranger Mine." Catti-brie said softly as she sat besides him and close to the fire. Smiling, the drow wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her closer, nuzzling the soft skin of her neck. She giggled as his soft lips fluttered against her skin. "But I don't think that anyone's ever matched your cooking on the road."  
  
He smirked, speaking quietly. "Well, after having to learn to do so for myself, having been alone for all those years, I thought that it would be rather pleasant and make it edible for other people as well."  
  
Catti-brie scowled slightly and smacked him lightly on the back of the head. He chuckled softly and returned her hit with a light kiss. "You still have yet to tell me what you've been keeping secret for so long, Lady Love." He said quietly as his expression quickly turned to one of seriousness. "And you've had me wondering my head off about what this news will be."  
  
Catti-brie bit her lip. She had been wondering herself how she would be breaking the news to him. She hadn't really thought about what his reaction would be, but she was confident that he would be supportive of their child. After all, she thought, Delly Alustriel was confident in her words . . .  
  
Drizzt watched his wife curiously as she lightly placed a hand on her belly. It was a strange reaction for her whenever she was nervous. He noticed that she was again wearing one of his tunics. When he had pointed this out earlier, she had only said that they were far more comfortable than her own. Not to mention roomier. Earlier that evening, when he had placed his arms around her waist, he had felt that her belly was no longer soft and flat, but was slightly rounded and harder to his touch.  
  
As he thought, something clicked in his mind. How could he have been so ignorant! All of her symptoms should've made sense by this point! The morning illnesses, her changed figure, and the way she placed her hand protectively over her stomach like that. . . It was a miracle that he hadn't even noticed it before!  
  
Catti-brie looked up at her husband, looking up and into his face. That thoughtful look that eased across his features whenever he was thinking had already slipped onto his face. Worried, she reached up and touched his cheek. Starting slightly, Drizzt looked down into those sapphire eyes before leaning down and whispering into her ear.  
  
"Love, no matter what it is that you have to tell me, nothing will change between us. I promise."  
  
Catti-brie smiled up at him, thinking to herself,_ it is as if he's read my mind..._  
  
**  
**  
Kelnozz snuck through the trees, followed closely by Ilmaîk. He knew that they were getting closer to the campsite where the renegade and his pregnant bitch would be camping for the night. He had already ordered his soldiers into their positions around the wooded areas, preparing for their planned course of action.  
  
One of his captains came up to him and spoke quietly to his leader. "The soldiers are in position and ready to attack at your signal. The targets are getting ready to settle down for the night as we speak, so we should probably wait until they are asleep to begin."  
  
Kelnozz smiled, then turned back to the enchanter. Ilmaîk smiled evilly and pulled a newly created wand and band of scrolls out from underneath his black robes. "Excellent, Mikv'n. We'll attack as soon as they are asleep and unawares. This night will be one that Do'Urden will never forget."  
**  
  
**  
"Drizzt," she started, and hesitated slightly before continuing, not meeting those intense lavender eyes. "I'm pregnant."  
  
She closed her eyes, looking at the ground. Something inside of her told her that she shouldn't have told him, and that he would go against his word. But his reaction surprised her.  
  
He cupped her face in his slender hands and gently tilted it up to look into those brilliant sapphire eyes. He smiled gently at his, leaning down to touch his forehead to hers. His voice was soft when he spoke, his eyes filled with a soothing light.  
  
"Cat, that's wonderful" – his smile widened – "and I'm certainly not going to leave you for that! Quite on the contrary!" He wrapped his arms tightly around her pulling her close. Suddenly, his expression turned curious. "But, I thought that you didn't want to have children, at least, not for a while."  
  
Catti-brie smiled, burying her face into his shoulder. "I thought that I didn't, but after spending an afternoon with Serenity and Adrian, I realized that I had been wrong. That night, I went to Alustriel and asked that on our wedding night, she deactivate that ring of yours. I wanted this to be a surprise."  
  
The drow chuckled softly, burying his face in her auburn hair and taking in her familiar scent. "Well, Lady Love, I agree with you there. It was quite the surprise." His voice softened as he pulled back slightly and kissed the top of her head gently. "Thank you."  
  
She smiled as she looked up at him, happy tears in the corners of her eyes. Sighing softly, she snuggled closer to the drow, speaking softly. "Well, at least now we'll be able to go through this together."  
  
****  
  
Kelnozz's lips curled into a sardonic smile as he watched the pair settle into the same bedroll, sleeping in the arms of the other. Grinning at Ilmaîk and Mikv'n he gave the signal for attack.  
  
****  
  
**[A/N]  
** Well, people, I think I'll end it there. I'm sorry that I haven't updated in a while, my dad needed the laptop for work and I'm a helpless teenager without a life. _Grin._ Well, please review! It feeds the plot bunnies!


	11. Familiar Faces

**[A/N]  
** Hey people. Sorry its taken so long to update, but I've been grounded for a while from the computer. My parents think that I have an attitude problem. What do they expect? I'm 15 and am running on almost no sleep! Too many damn plot bunnies! Grrr! My brain is never left alone! _Starts banging head on the keyboard._ Anyways, on with the story!  
  
**Chapter Eleven – Anguish  
**  
Drizzt looked up as awareness came flooding back to him quickly, his senses more alert than they had been in a while. He looked around and gasped slightly, shaking Catti-brie out of a fitful sleep. She looked up at him groggily, wondering why in the Nine Hells he had woken her up before the sun was even close to beginning to rise. Seeing the question in her eyes, he quickly placed his finger over her lips, signaling her to silence.  
  
"Something's out there." He whispered softly into her ear, barely audible to the young human woman. "Don't move. I'm going to try something."  
  
She watched as he hand slowly moved behind his back, reaching for the knife that he concealed there whenever he went to sleep. It had become a habit of his after what had happened almost a year ago. He kept it as protection, and it was easy to get to. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he grasped the polished wooden handle tightly in his hand.  
  
Faster than the naked eye can follow, he had whipped around and thrown the dagger into the night, not even bothering to follow the path that the deadly projectile flew.  
  
****  
  
One of the mercenary soldiers led the group out into the campsite, invisible to the untrained senses. Without warning, a soft whistle pierced the silent night and the other soldiers looked on in horror as their leader fell to the ground, choking and clutching his neck. Blood poured from an elven crafted knife that had become lodged in his throat, almost directly into his jugular artery.  
  
They looked at each other before looking back in the direction of the renegade's camp. Their eyes widened at the crouched figure that was looking at them through glowing lavender eyes, one hand holding a scimitar with a glowing blue blade. The other blade had a soft white aura surrounding it. Crimson eyes wide, the group continued their charge towards the two loners, wanting to get this over with quickly and efficiently.  
  
****  
  
"That was a good throw." Catti-brie whispered, awestruck at the accuracy in which Drizzt was able to throw the elven dagger. He grinned softly in the darkness, pulling Twinkle and Icingdeath from their sheaths and crouching low, readying for battle. "I've never seen anyone throw something like that besides Wulfgar."  
  
"Why, thank you, Lady Love." He reached down one hand to help her up. "Now, what say you about some fun while teaching these soldiers how to fight, hmm?"  
  
She smiled, picking up Taulmaril from where it lay besides her. Lightly kissing him, she strung an arrow and pulled back the bowstring, placing a bead on one of the rushing soldiers. "I'd loved to, my ranger."  
  
****  
  
Kelnozz watched with a satisfied smirk as his mercenary soldiers charged the now prepared husband and wife. The smirk only faded slightly as he watched their leader struck down by a well thrown dagger. Turning to Ilmaîk, he nodded slightly, signaling for the start of their magically prepared means of grabbing the auburn-haired woman.  
  
_Well,_ he thought, _she is quite beautiful for a human woman._ A sardonic grin crossed his face as he watched his wizard's spellcasting. _Maybe I'll allow myself the pleasures of her flesh for myself. It would be something to stain that damned Do'Urden more than what we were originally planning to do will. Most Definitely._  
  
****  
  
Drizzt spun the scimitars quickly around his hands, keeping the three who had reached them from getting to Catti-brie too quickly. She was still using her silver-streaking arrows to take out many of the soldiers in the distance. The barrage of arrows had actually kept a majority of the soldiers from reaching them, but the drow ranger had all that he could handle from the three that had begun attacking him at the same time. His finely honed skills were being tested for the first time in months – probably since when he had been trying to keep the drow from what they had been doing to Mikhail before he had stopped them.  
  
He spun this way and that – blocking attacks and avoiding slashes and thrusts left and right. The hunter was only barely kept below the surface – he didn't want to hurt Catti-brie. She meant the world and beyond to him. He twisted away from a determined thrust of a spear only just in time and grinned to himself when he felt his scimitar slashing neatly across his opponent's throat.  
  
Well, that was one less mercenary to deal with.  
  
He continued to slash and dodge as the two other soldiers came at him with a ferocity in their eyes that he couldn't explain. He ducked their attacks, kicking out one leg and spinning deftly, kicking their feet out from underneath them, before standing and readying himself for another attack, his back turned on the archers.  
  
A move that unfortunately placed him in line of one of the archers' shots.  
  
An arrow embedded itself deep in his back, right below his left shoulder blade and dangerously close to his heart.  
  
****  
  
Ilmaîk smiled to himself as he felt the spell complete himself with the deft twisting of his slender fingers. It had been so long since he had performed this spell and it felt so good to be able to threaten someone once more.  
  
He nodded to Kelnozz and began walking forward, lifting his hands in the air.  
  
The mercenary leader walked out from where he had been in the trees, walking out and smiling sardonically at the ranger. Drizzt struggled to stand, holding onto both of scimitars – his eyes widening when he saw the mercenary coming up behind him.  
  
"Well, well, well, we meet again, Do'Urden. What a pleasant surprise."  
  
****  
  
**[A/N]  
** I am SO evil. Please review! They will continue to feed the plot bunnies! And here's an announcement – I'll be gone from July 3rd to July 10th, on vacation with my family. _Blagh._ Don't wanna go! Wanna get rid of mad plot bunnies and plot hamsters! 


	12. Darkness I

**[A/N]   
**Damn. I can't get rid of these damned plot bunnies! Oh well, guess you guys get another chapter.  
  
**Chapter Twelve – Revenge**  
  
"What are you doing here, Kelnozz?" Drizzt's voice was soft as he set the tip of Icingdeath in the ground, leaning heavily upon it, yet trying not to appear for it to be so. Pain exploded through his senses, beckoning him to unconsciousness, but the stubborn ranger refused to give in. "I thought that you had been killed in the battle to get me free?"  
  
Kelnozz's smile faded only slightly and he looked at the renegade – completely unfazed. "I thought that you would be showing more respect for me, especially since I gave you so many lessons on learning to hold your tongue." Grinning, he walked tauntingly closer to Drizzt, circling around him. "And besides, your wife's fate rests in you hands."  
  
"What do you mean, Kelnozz?" Drizzt asked slowly, lavender eyes looking at him curiously – untrusting. "Catti-brie's fine."  
  
"If you say so." He smiled as he leaned closer, whispering conspiratorially in the ranger's ear. "But if you look behind you, you will see that you are wrong – very wrong."  
  
Scowling, clutching his shoulder in pain, Drizzt turned around, his eyes widening with fear and disbelief. Ilmaîk grinned from where he was in control of his spell.  
  
A ghost-like figure stood behind a frightened Catti-brie, holding a very solid looking knife against her throat. The familiar amber color in those cold ghost eyes made the ranger's heart stop. He choked back the bile that worked its way into his throat.  
  
A ghostly reincarnation of Zaknafein Do'Urden.  
  
Ilmaîk grinned.  
  
****  
  
"I thought you said that your wife was safe, Do'Urden?" Kelnozz taunted, grinning sardonically at the enemy he had made while attending the Melee Magthere.  
  
Drizzt had fallen to his knees, despair easily read within the lavender depths of his eyes. He closed them quickly, not wanting anyone else to see the emotion expressed in his eyes. Resting his shaking arms against the ground, trying to hide his pain – both physical and emotional - he spoke quietly.  
  
"Why? Why have you done this?"  
  
The pain was slowly trying to overwhelm him, but reverted back to the expressionless mask that he had adopt to accommodate the torture from the year past. The pain in his heart was too much and tears poured from his lavender eyes at the thought. He looked up into the cold amber eyes that had once looked down upon him with warmth and love – when he had only been five years old and unable to find anyone that would actually love and comfort him.  
  
Kelnozz's eyes smiled down at the pained renegade, nodding slightly and signaling to Ilmaîk. His voice was taunting and the sound caused the ranger too look up at him sharply.  
  
"Thanks to this well-trained wizard, I have control of his spirit. We are planning on taking the body of one of these soldiers for him to use, but we will still control him."  
  
His grin widened as he looked down into those intense lavender orbs. They frightened him, that was true, but now he had the power over him that he had never before imagined. He held the fate of his father's soul, and the life of his wife and unborn child in his hands. He had a lot of things that he could use against the ranger.  
  
Ilmaîk decided to use this opportunity to speak his mind to the ranger. "He'll never be anything more than a puppet. His spirit is completely under my control."  
  
Without warning, the ranger moved faster than Kelnozz could follow to move around him and hold another dagger at his throat, snarling softly, tears leaking out of the corners of his eyes.  
  
****  
  
Catti-brie looked down at her husband. She could see the struggle behind his lavender orbs – could see how he was struggling not to kill whomever it was that he had trapped – the person who was laughing hysterically at the ranger's reaction. Their entire conversation had been in the drow tongue, but she had been able to recognize two choked words that Drizzt had muttered. Zaknafein Do'Urden.  
  
That phrase had caused her to turn around and look at the ghostly figure that was holding a knife to her throat. She gasped slightly in surprise at the familiar facial features. The tall spirit, or whatever it was, bore an incredibly strong resemblance to the elf she loved.  
  
_His eyes are shaped the same way that Drizzt's are, and his face is almost exactly the same._ Her thoughts whirled as she thought of the inner pain that the ranger must be feeling in his heart – watching as his beloved father held his wife with a dagger to her throat – ready to kill her and she couldn't do anything about it without endangering the child that she carried. _They look so much alike – if Zaknafein had been shorter – and his eyes lavender – I probably would've mistaken him for Drizzt. Those eyes are so intense – just like Drizzt's, its unbelievable.  
  
Isn't this a new way to meet your in-laws . . .  
_  
Tears sparkling in her sapphire orbs, she raised her eyes too look at the scene that played before her. Drizzt's face had turned to one of the purest rage she had ever seen on those ethereal features. He held the mercenary leader from behind, a dagger at his throat as he spoke quietly in his ear. From the wound that she knew he had sustained earlier, it was a struggle for him to remain upright. She watched as the mercenary nodded slowly and the ghostly figure behind her tightened his hold the dagger, drawing a cut deep enough to draw blood across her neck.  
  
She gasped slightly at the unexpected pain. Catti-brie realized with a start that they were probably going to kill her slowly, and right in front of her husband's eyes.  
  
****  
  
"What are you going to do now, Do'Urden, kill me?" Kelnozz asked, smirking sardonically at the ranger. A slight growl confirmed his suspicions. (A/N: I've been reading too many Inu-Yasha fics) "I see. Only, there's a single problem with you doing that."  
  
"I don't see why I can't."  
  
The smirk widened. "Oh, but I can, Ranger Do'Urden." It was Ilmaîk that replied. Drizzt turned sharply to him. "You see, I have complete control over Zaknafein's actions. He'll do anything that I ask of him." A smirk appeared on his ebon-skinned face. "Including, kill your wife and your" – something evil flickered within those crimson eyes – "unborn child."  
  
Drizzt's lavender eyes widened. How could they possibly know? He thought, his grip on his dagger loosening ever so slightly. How could he have possibly known that Cat's carrying our first child? The same thought flickered through his mind as he tried to calm his shaking hands. How could he have known?  
  
Catti-brie's thoughts echoed those of her husband and she moved one of her hands to settle on her small, round belly. She met Drizzt's eyes from across the clearing. Kelnozz laughed sardonically and moved ever so slightly under the ranger's grip.  
  
"I'll kill the both of you before you are able to do any such thing." His voice was soft and dangerous – Ilmaîk shivered at the coldness in the tone. Kelnozz's smirk only widened further.  
  
Ilmaîk spoke. "All I have to do is utter a single word and he'll cut her throat. Only one word, Ranger Do'Urden. It doesn't matter if you manage to kill the both of us or not, she'll still die and your father's soul will be lost without me to cast him back to the Abyss."  
  
Drizzt took a deep breath, trying to gather his thought, but his captive's voice rang clearly through his mind as he spoke.  
  
"That being explained, I suggest that you release me, Do'Urden, before something terrible happens to your darling Catti-brie and your child."  
  
Catti-brie shook her head sadly. She didn't want him to do this. _This isn't right, he shouldn't be doing this,_ her mind told her, but she was too late.  
  
Tears in his eyes at being forced into something, Drizzt reluctantly took his knife from Kelnozz's throat, shaking violently from pain and exertion. He could feel the blood pouring down his back from his wounds. He knew that he needed to get some kind of treatment soon, but he didn't know where to get it.  
  
As he stepped back from the mercenary leader, something hard came crashing against the back of his skull.  
  
Everything went black and the merciful darkness claimed him.  
  
****  
  
Catti-brie cried out when she saw Drizzt's eyes roll into the back of his head and he crumpled before her. Zaknafein's hand tightened on her arm, preventing her from rushing forward. Kelnozz smirked as he walked closer to her, purposely stepping on the ranger's deathly still form. Tears formed in her eyes as she looked at her still husband.  
  
"Well, well, if this isn't the lovely Catti-brie." She scowled and slapped him – hard – leaving behind her hand print – clearly visible on his cheek. He only smirked. "You are a feisty one, aren't you?" Turning back to one of the soldiers holding a stained clothe in his hands, he nodded. "You know what to do."  
  
The soldier strode forward, bringing the stained clothe level with her mouth and nose. She struggled desperately against her captor's grip, recognizing the smell of the drug – Drizzt had told her about it. The soldier roughly pulled her hair back and pressed the clothe against her mouth and nose.  
  
Darkness came up and swallowed her.  
  
****  
  
**[A/N]  
**Well, people, how did you like that? I did because I'm finally getting into the storyline. Well, I don't know if this'll be the last chapter before I leave, so, TTFN, I'll hopefully be adding another before I leave. _Please review! It feeds the plot bunnies and plot hamsters! _


	13. The Clearing

**Chapter Thirteen – Revenge**  
  
_Light enveloped him, calling to him. He shook his head weakly, refusing to give in to death – into the Abyss. He refused the soft call.  
  
But, it was so wonderful, beckoning and calling him to the gentle peace and quiet there . . .  
  
But what about his Cat?_  
  
I have to get her back from that asshole, I won't let him harm her.  
  
_He couldn't leave her alone . . .  
_  
I won't go, _he thought, struggling against the hold the darkness was taking on him.  
  
_I won't leave her . . .  
  
****  
  
The first thought that flittered through his conscious mind was that someone or something was moving him and that he was bumping around with his stomach on something warm. Pain burned in his shoulder and he moaned softly in pain as he opened his eyes, only to find himself looking at the ground.  
  
And it was moving . . .  
  
Startled, but still hazy from the hard knock to his head, Drizzt looked sideways; only too look at the sideways profile of the part-unicorn that he had bought for the journey to Silverymoon. He swallowed thickly, thanking the horse in a way that only a ranger could. Moaning in pain, he righted himself on the horse slowly, leaning forward to rest lightly against the horse's neck. After a few moments, the darkness once again caught up with him.  
  
****  
  
Guards moved along the paths that were on the high walls that surrounded the city of Silverymoon. So far, it had been a peaceful day. One of the two elves that was marching just over the archway noticed something strange down below and notified his companion immediately.  
  
Both of them watched in horror as the unfamiliar site of the familiar drow ranger slipped from his horse, falling limply to the ground. Another horse followed the one that the ranger was riding and both knew immediately that something was very wrong indeed.  
  
****  
  
Lady Alustriel, the ruler of Silverymoon, looked up as a servant ran out into her study, panting heavily and eyes wide. Startled and surprised, she stood and looked at the servant, asking softly what he was doing there.  
  
"Its Ranger Do'Urden, milady." He said breathlessly, giving a short bow as he looked into her silver eyes. "Guards marching along the entrance found him unconscious and badly wounded. They watched as he fell from his horse, as limp as death. Another horse followed his, but there wasn't a rider on the horse. He is in desperate need of medicinal help, and the arrow that pierced him is enchanted so that if any magic is used on the wound, he will die."  
  
_****  
  
Warm air danced lightly across his face as he opened his eyes slowly. Birds were singing other places in the glade, along with the delicate smells of the flowers that surrounded him. It had been so long since that fight with the drow . . . since Catti-brie had been taken. With sudden realization, he opened his eyes and sat up, looking around at the clearing that he was in.  
  
It was all to familiar, just by looking at the trees and the wild flowers that grew in the glade. The eternal autumn was in the air and the breeze of a warm fall afternoon played across his black skinned cheeks as he fought to figure out why Lady Forest had brought him here once again.  
  
Standing, he continued looking around, still wondering about how he had gotten there in the first place. Tears fell down his cheeks as he wondered over towards the stream, trying to quench the thirst in his throat. His thoughts turned to seeing his Catti-brie, trapped like that, with now possible escape without placing irreversible harm on both her and the child that she carried inside of her.  
  
Not to mention seeing that it was the spirit of his beloved father that was holding her hostage against him – seeing those amber eyes for the first time in months.  
  
He knelt besides the stream, running one hand over his face and trying to hold his emotions inside and not let them show. He knew that they could be used against him – but he hadn't realized that before he had asked Catti- brie to marry him.  
  
Drizzt jumped as he felt a hand graze his shoulder – unexpected to the tense drow. He regretted the move immediately when he saw who it was. Taking a deep breath, he bowed his head slightly in respect.  
  
"My apologies, Lady Forest." Mielikke knew that he felt horrible about his reaction – she could tell by the title which he had addressed her with. "I did not mean to show displeasure at your touch."  
  
"It's not your fault, Ranger Do'Urden." She said softly, replacing her hand on the shoulder that she knew to be injured. It had been long since he had addressed her by her name, and not the proper title used by priests and priestesses. She knew that he was in deep emotional pain and yet she could do nothing to stop it. "You have been through a lot and there was nothing that I could do to stop what happened. The wizard that is with them is indeed powerful and even some of the other gods couldn't stop what happened. His magic was touched by a deep evil that none could touch except for Lolth."  
  
The drow sighed softly and looked down into the waters that flowed through the tranquil surroundings. He watched as he reflection turned smoothly into that of his father, a few of the features not changing at all, like the shape of the eyes and the sensual curve of the lips, but some of the other only aging slightly. The eyes swirled from their brilliant violet to the radiant amber that belonged only to Zaknafein.  
  
He watched the scene that had played before happen again and again as he saw his beloved Catti-brie struggling against the man that had taught him so much when he was young. She probably hadn't even realized that it was his father until Kelnozz had revealed that information. But, remembering how smooth the transformation between their faces had been, and how the features on his face hadn't exactly changed very much, he realized that she probably would've assumed that they were at least related in some way or another.  
  
Tears fell down his face as he remembered his captivity – and that how his wife and unborn child were now at their mercy. He clenched his fist in anger, trying to stop the fine trembling that had spread to his entire body. He should've been able to stop all of this from happened, but he hadn't.  
  
Mielikke watched as he slammed his fist into the water, spraying drops of the cool liquid over both of their faces and bodies and shattering the reflections dancing upon the smooth surface. Locks of his hair fell over his shoulder, hiding his face from her view – but she could see his shoulders shaking and knew of the pain that he felt inside his heart. His soft words were hissed through his teeth and the Goddess of the Forest had never heard such guilt coming from a single being before in all of her immortal life.  
  
"Its my fault that she was captured. If I had been paying more attention to what was happening around her, she wouldn't been taken by him." Mielikke sighed, knowing immediately what he was talking about. "She would've been safe and so would our child. I should've told her to run while she could, and none of this would've happened."  
  
"Are you sure of this, Ranger Do'Urden?" She spoke quietly, trying to look into the eyes that were hidden from her view. "Are you so sure that it was you that they were after?"  
  
He seemed to stop and think about that, realization setting in. They would've found another way to capture her, even if the original plan had failed. He couldn't believe that he hadn't thought of this before. He couldn't believe it! He should've been able to see right through this façade and had been able to keep her safe from any harm. Sighing, Mielikke sighed softly, taking her hand off of his shoulder. She knew that she was the one that had to convince him that it was up to him to save his beloved.  
  
"Ranger Do'Urden, I must tell you, our time here is limited." She spoke these words softly, catching his attention quickly. "If they are the same group, with the same leader, than they are bound to bring her to the same location. Find out where they are going to bring her and follow them. That is the only way that you will be able to save her. And you'd best learn to fight with weapons that can be more easily hidden."  
  
Drizzt looked at her curiously, wondering what was going on as the form of the Lady Forest slowly disappeared. Light around him slowly became brighter as he realized that he was opening his eyes into the real world.   
  
_**[A/N]  
**Hey people! I'm sorry that I haven't updated in so long! The plot bunnies had abandoned me for a while there. Please review! Thank you!


	14. Odd Awakenings

**Chapter Fourteen – Revenge  
**  
She opened her eyes slowly, groaning softly at the pounding at the back of her head. She couldn't remember where she was or how she had gotten there. The ground beneath her was cold and hard with sharp edged digging into her side and stomach. Pain shifted through her body as she fought to clear her thoughts. She felt her body shaking softly as she moved on hand to brush long strands of auburn hair our of her face, looking around the torch-lit room.  
  
Blue eyes widened as Catti-brie slowly remembered the events of the night before. Wait, had it really only been a night? How long has passed since I was captured? Is this real?  
  
A soft voice in the corner of the room made her jump at the sound. She looked around until she found a cloaked and hooded figure standing in the shadows of the room. She couldn't see very well in the dimly lit room and she couldn't see into the hood of his cloak, but she knew from his build that he was likely of elven descent. He was even more likely, a drow.  
  
"You must be the one that I had been holding hostage." The voice was hard and cold, causing the young woman to shiver. Some trick of the light made amber eyes glow from beneath the hood in a strange way – it was terrifying since she could see nothing but his eyes. "Before I was given a body to mold into my own."  
  
She stared at him, unable to focus in the faint light. Without warning, nausea wrapped itself around her senses and choked her until she was forced to push herself up onto her arms weakly and spill the contents of her stomach all over the cold, hard stone. Wiping the back of her hand shakily over her mouth, she rolled over onto her side, wrapping her arm weakly around her gently swollen belly.  
  
The familiar figure looked down at the prisoner, his eyes filled with a light the one couldn't discern from beneath his black piwafwi hood. The only thing that one could tell was that there was a conflict going on behind those amber colored orbs. Catti-brie looked up at him in surprise when she noticed that he had begun walking towards her while she had been retching out the contents of her stomach. Her eyes widened as she remember the details that Drizzt had told her about his imprisonment among the drow. Her face paled as she thought about his words that one night on their way to Silverymoon.  
  
_"Once you are tortured by a drow, you never forget it Cat, ever."_  
  
His soft, torn voice echoed through her mind, reminding her of the tortured existence that he had gone through during his month of captivity. She could remember the tears that had been shining in his eyes as they had sat together in that clearing, talking quietly away from the rest of the people in camp. He had been too ashamed to say anything about it near anyone else at the time.  
  
Looking up at the reincarnation of the drow that had suffered through that torture, she felt her stomach drop. Eyes as cold as ever, he brought his fist down faster than she could follow, bringing it down quickly and knocking her world into absolute darkness once more.  
  
****  
  
_She sat in the rocking chair in the corner of the spare room where she and her husband had placed all of the baby things after the twins and Zak had grown out of it. She smiled as she thought of the four-year-old twin boys and their eight-year-old elder brother. At that moment they were playing outside with Kilun and other children from Lonelywood. She looked around the room at the cradle and the small dresser. Memories of her three sons flitted across her mind as she looked through all the little baby clothes that would hopefully be used in the future.  
  
Smiling gently and placing her hand slowly on her belly as she thought about how Drizzt would react to the news that she had to tell him when he returned from the patrols around the small town and the meeting to discuss findings with the town representative. She couldn't believe that she was pregnant again, especially since she thought that she was too old to be having anymore children.  
  
At 40, women didn't normally have children.  
  
"Cat," the call from the downstairs after the door had been opened and closed. "Are you home?"  
  
"Aye." She called back, sitting down in the rocking chair as she recalled memories of seeing the drow sitting here and comforting their oldest when he was much younger and having nightmares. "I'm upstairs."  
  
She smiled slightly as she listened to his barely audible footsteps as he walked up the stairs and down the hallway. She remained seated as he opened the door into the room that she was sitting in. He walked over to where she was sitting and knelt in front of her, resting his chin on the arms that he had rested across her lap. He smiled gently up at her.  
  
"Recalling fond memories, Lady Love?" He asked her quietly, reaching up with one hand to cup her face softly. "I found you here yesterday also."  
  
She smiled slightly as she leaned into that hand, reaching up to brush a loose strand of hair out of his face. "That isn't the only reason that I've been coming in here."  
  
He looked at her curiously. "And what reason would that be?"  
  
Her smile widened as she replaced her hand to her belly. "We're going to be having another baby."  
  
_****  
  
He groaned softly as his eyes fluttered open, squinting through the bright light surrounding him. Mixed, mumbling voices coursed through his awareness, echoing through his jumbled mind. He moved his head slightly, trying to figure out where he was. The last thing he remembered from the being in the real world was lying down over his horse, not knowing exactly where he was, and yet still moving somewhere.  
  
The ranger started as someone placed a cool hand on his forehead and bent down to look into confused lavender eyes with her own silver ones, a slight smile on her face.  
  
"Well, Drizzt, I'm glad to see that you have finally decided to join the world of the living." Alustriel smiled as he stared at her with a confused look upon his black-skinned features. Carefully, she helped him to sit up, careful of the fresh bandages covering his back and shoulder. Another bandage wrapped itself around the back of his head where a welt had formed from where the sword hilt had been brought down onto the back of his head. "It's been a while since the guards at the gate watched you fall from the horse that you were on. They were also worried because another horse was following yours, but it had no rider. They were wondering why, especially since Catti-brie was supposed to be coming with you."  
  
He froze. Memories flooded his mind, choking him as he thought about how he hadn't been able to stop what had happened to her. It was suddenly hard to breathe as he saw the memories flashing through his mind again and again. He placed his face in his hands, not wanting Alustriel to see the emotions the flitted through his eyes.  
  
The ruler of Silverymoon watched her friend carefully. Almost immediately she realized that something terrible must've happened to them while they were traveling because Drizzt would never have left Catti-brie behind now that they were married – he wouldn't want her to get hurt by someone. She meant too much to him for that to ever happen. With a start, the woman realized that he had said something and that she had been too lost in her wonderings to realize that he had indeed been speaking.  
  
"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I wasn't really listening. My mind was somewhere else."  
  
He sighed and looked down at his hands. "Catti-brie was captured by the same drow that took me months ago. They were hired by someone to take her so that they could use her against me. I need to get her. I don't care what happens to me, I only want her out of their hands and safe. I'll do anything to bring her back."  
  
Alustriel heard the guilt in his voice and knew that as soon as he was able to swing a weapon without the pain shooting through his and back, he would go and try and find her, no matter what the costs. When he had mentioned that the same group that had taken him had taken Catti-brie, she remembered something else that had happened during that time. An idea came to her and she turned to Drizzt to explain it.  
  
"You're going to need help for your quest, Drizzt." She said quietly, looking into those intense lavender eyes. He was looking with the curiosity that she remembered seeing the first time that she had come to him, while he was on the quest, looking for Mithril Hall. "I was thinking that if this is in fact the same group, the Luchiélt may be able to help you in finding where she is. You were unconscious when you were brought there and you were unconscious when you were brought out. Only a few people know where the cave actually is – "  
  
He interrupted her, and she could tell that an idea was forming in his head. "Yes, I know only a few people know that, but only Lady Serenity knew where the secret entrance was. . ."  
  
**  
  
[A/N]  
**Hey people. Plot bunnies were eating at me. Please review! Its a good thing! 


	15. Questions

**Chapter Fifteen – Revenge**

She woke up slowly, reluctantly. Her head was pounding from the blow that the drow had given her to knock her out the night before. She felt like something large had come out of nowhere and had hit her hard. It took her a while to realize that she was chained to the wall of the room that she had last been in.

And she was surrounded by the drow that had captured her.

"How are you doing Lady Do'Urden?" Kelnozz leered down at her as he spoke, his normal sardonic smile crossing his face. Without warning, he reached down and grabbed the collar of her tunic, pulling her up so that he could look into her sapphire eyes with his own glowing red ones. The light that she saw shining in those orbs frightened her. "And may I ask after the health of your child?"

Her eyes widened. She had forgotten that he knew that she was pregnant. That frightened her further. She knew that he would be using this against her and she didn't want anything to happen to the baby she carried. Her eyes widened as a new light entered the drow's eyes. His command chilled her to the bone.

"I want you to beat that spawn of that ranger out of her belly."

With that he walked from the room, closing the door behind him as the others surrounded her.

The first blow connected solidly with her stomach, forcing a sharp cry from her lips and a fierce pain shot through her body. Blows rained down on her from all around, sharp and painful as she curled into herself, trying to protect her child from the kicks and hits that the drow mercenaries laid on her. Tears fell down her cheeks as she unsuccessfully tried to blink back the darkness that threatened to take her away.

That hopeless voice of her beloved echoed through her mind as the merciful darkness claimed her.

"_Once you are tortured by a drow, you never forget it, Cat."_

_  
  
Catti-brie smiled as she walked around the newly painted baby room. Serenity had come all the way from her home to help her with it, and at such a short notice. The baby had been born a month early, throwing off the timing that they had been going on at getting the room ready for their newborn daughter._

_Drizzt walked in, carrying the tiny newborn. A soft cry came from the blanket folds as he handed her over to his wife. Their three sons – eight-year-old Zaknafein, and four-year-olds Nalfein and Sylfan – followed behind their father, all still desperately trying to see their new baby sister._

"_Mama!" Zak looked up at her with his cerulean blue eyes as she sat down in the rocking chair, readying to nurse the fussy infant. His hair – a color between white and red - fell into his round face as he stood besides her, his curiosity taking the better of him. "Why haven't we gotten to see baby Aimee yet?"_

_Catti-brie smiled, one arm holding her daughter while the other reached out and smoothed the hair back from her son's face. Two pairs of violet-blue eyes looked up at her, the same question within their little depths. Drizzt smiled slightly as he knelt behind them, hugging all three from behind._

"_We just wanted to wait until after we had the room finished and when we would all be by ourselves as a family." He smiled as they all looked at him, still all confused about their parents' actions. "That, and we weren't sure whither or not Aimee would live for more than a few days, so we waited a little while."_

_The twins looked at each other before looking at their father. "Why do ya tink that baby Aimee would die?" Nalfein looked confused, not knowing what was going on. "She's okey-day since Mama's been walkin' 'round."_

"_Yah!" Sylfan looked at his twin before looking at his father. "She's been okey-day t' us!"_

_Drizzt laughed and Catti-brie chuckled softly. The twins were beginning to inherit their mother's stubborn streak. Zak had already inherited it. Catti-brie smiled down at her sons as she slowly lowered the blankets from the little face of the fussy newborn in her arms. Three sets of eyes looked on anxiously, all of them wanting to be able to see their new sister._

_Her skin was nearly as dark as her father's – darker than her eldest brother's. Wide, curious eyes were brilliant lavender and short, messy hair was the purest snow white with a single streak of auburn that was longer than the rest and always fell into that little face. Zak reached over cautiously and lightly touched one of the little hands. Small fingers wrapped around the one and happy sound came from the little rosebud mouth as those curious eyes turned to him._

"_Mama look! Baby Aimee's looking at me!" He looked at her with his cerulean eyes. "She has such tiny hands! They're smaller than anything that I've ever seen 'cept, maybe a stick when Daddy brings my out into the mountains."_

_After watching how the baby had reacted to their brother, the twins looked at each other and then reached out towards their sister. The tiny infant reached out her other little hand and her little eyes darted towards them. She gurgled happily as she looked at the new faces around her._

_Over the heads of her sons, Catti-brie looked at her husband and smiled serenely. Smiling peacefully, Drizzt leaned over and kissed her lightly, earning a groan of disgust from the twins – Zak was used to it._

_Never was there a day in her life that she regretted her marriage._

****

  
  
He stared up at the sky, searching to lose himself among the familiar constellations of stars. It had been a few days since he had arrived in Silverymoon, and he knew that the Luchiélt had arrived that afternoon, and were getting settled into their rooms. To his surprise, Gabriel had come with Serenity and their familiar and small entourage.

After hearing of the situation, Serenity had readily agreed to come and help, without the slightest hesitation. Gabriel had argued against it at first, until his wife told him about what had happened. There had been an angry light in his eyes as he agreed to allow her to come down there and help. Drizzt knew that even though most couldn't tell, he was incredibly protective of her.

He sighed as he watched the stars. No matter what he did, he could never get thoughts of what was happening to her out of his mind. Tears ran down his face at the thought of what was happening to her at that moment. After what had happened to him, did he expect them to be gentle with her? Especially since Kelnozz knew of the child that grew within her?

Without warning, the door to his room was thrown open and a tall figure stood at the open door. Two violet pinpricks of light glowed from where the eyes should have been.

He watched as it sped across the room. Pain registered as he found himself held against the wall, suspended several feet in the air and looking into the glowing violet eyes of a very angry Gabriel. His chest heaved with breath as he stared into the wide lavender eyes of a ranger he trusted.

"I know that you would never ask for this unless it was necessary." His voice was as cold as Drizzt had ever heard it. It had been long ere since he had seen this side of the Luchién lord, but he knew that it existed. "But if anything that happens that should scar her further, you know what consequences you shall face. She has been through this enough, and she does not need to be reminded of what has happened to her in the past."

Lavender eyes were hidden by the fall of white hair that had fallen from the braid that he kept it in. "And you remember what happened to her? Catti-brie faces that same fate, and you know as well as I that, strong though she is, she has never before been tortured or raped. She would not survive that prolonged suffering." Anger had seeped into his voice, making it rough (think Kenshin Himura) and he looked at Gabriel through the hair that had fallen into his face. "You know this as well, and you are right that I would never ask it of her, unless absolutely necessary. Therefore, forgive me when I say that we have less time too look for her than you had to look for Serenity. They are looking to harm me by torturing and killing her, and bringing my father back from the dead when he had already been resurrected once by my mother to try and kill me. They used him to capture her. They hold two people that I hold dear against me. What else do you want me to do, Gabriel?"

The Luchiélt lord looked down at where his hand was wrapped around the throat of the drow ranger. He saw the tears in his eyes and knew that perhaps he had gone too far. A small cry caused both males to turn their heads towards the door. Serenity stood there, holding their sleeping son in her arms and her green eyes wide in surprise.

"What is going on here?" She walked into the room, watching as Gabriel slowly lowered Drizzt to the ground and backed away. Drizzt cautiously touched his hand to his throat, rubbing the skin gingerly. He looked behind him, feeling blood running down his spine. Serenity walked over to kneel by him, noting the crimson stain that was spreading down the green clothe of his tunic. Gabriel's eyes widened as he remembered his wife telling him that Drizzt had been injured in the fight with the drow.

Muttering a quiet apology to the drow, Gabriel left the room, violet eyes filled with shame. He had never meant for it to go that far. Serenity watched her husband leave, eyes worried as Drizzt moved to stand on the balcony once more, ignoring the pain in his shoulder from having the wound reopened. He had known that Gabriel would be angry, but he hadn't expected him to be this angry.

He cursed silently in drow as he placed one hand on his shoulder. He knew that he needed to tend the wound soon otherwise it would be infected.

"Ranger Do'Urden?" The soft voice startled him and he looked to see Serenity walked towards him. "Why don't you let me tend that wound?"

Sighing, he nodded and removed his tunic. Serenity carefully removed the old bandages and carefully began to stitch the wound closed once again. She used the supplies that had been left in the room for when a healer would come and redress the wound at night. They talked as she finished her work and redressed the wounds. Though it was Serenity that did most of the talking. Drizzt remained in his own thoughts most of the time.

"Serenity?" His voice was soft with the question. "Would you mind asking Gabriel a question for me?"

"Of course, Ranger Do'Urden." She paused at the door.

"Would you ask him to train me how to use a different sort of blade?" A trick of the moonlight caused his lavender eyes to glow eerily in the light of the moon. "I want to be able to learn how to use a pair of stilettos."  
  
**  
  
[A/N]  
**Hey there! I knew that its been a log time, but I'm finally updating! I'm sorry I haven't gotten this done sooner, but I've been grounded for a while for a 'bad attitude.' N e ways, in response to a question, the italizied stuff is a vision like thing. While unconscious, Catti-brie sees flashes of a possible future for her and Drizzt. Thought that these would be cool, since they're also little plot bunnies that I wanna get rid of. Any way, please review!!!!!!!!!!!


	16. Lost Child

**Chapter Sixteen – Revenge**

Pain seared through her abdomen as she began coming to consciousness.

'_I want you to beat that spawn of that ranger out of her belly.'_

The drow mercenary's words echoed her mind as she opened her eyes and looked around. Cold stone lit by a single torch that was in the room looked back at her eerily. Bile lined her throat and mouth, making her choke and cough. Her throat was dry and the coughs were painful.

Her body was wracked with pains that were similar to those that she got during her normal blood cycle. Raising shakily onto her arms, she coughed up a liquid that was warm and burning in her mouth. When she opened her eyes, she saw that it was blood.

She had coughed up blood.

Choking back a sob, she curled up on the floor, clutching her stomach with her hands. The small round lump that had developed during the four short months of her pregnancy was gone. There was a warm and sticky wetness between her thighs and when she looked, the young woman realized that it was blood.

Tears flowed down her cheeks as quiet, wracking sobs shook her slender frame.

She had lost the baby.

She was shaking and her skin pained her all over from the beating that the drow mercenaries had given her. She knew that she probably had bruises all over her body and more than likely at least a few broken ribs.

What would Drizzt think if he ever found out?

Her eyes widened as she thought about her husband, what had happened to him. The memory flashed through her mind as if it had happened only yesterday.

_She cried out when she saw Drizzt's eyes roll into the back of his head and he crumpled before her. Zaknafein's hand tightened on her arm, preventing her from rushing forward. Kelnozz smirked as he walked closer to her, purposely stepping on the ranger's deathly still form. Tears formed in her eyes as she looked at her still husband.  
_

What if he hadn't survived his wounds? There hadn't been anyone nearby that would've been able to heal the arrow wound and the blow to the back of his head. Despair was easily read in her expression as she curled around herself, arms around her now flat belly. A soft voice and familiar pair of eyes startled her and she looked towards the corner of the chamber.

"He's alive and that's all that I'm going to let you know."

Something flashed through those amber depths that made Catti-brie believe them.

It was as if the spirit of Zaknafein was fighting for release.  
  
****

_The door to the master bedroom opened with a faint creak as the four-year-old peered in through the crack in the door with wide lavender eyes. Above her, a pair of cerulean eyes peered in, from her twelve-year-old elder brother. Catti-brie was her youngest and eldest children through her eyelashes as little Aimee snuck into the room, small pink tongue sticking out from between her lips as she approached the bed._

_Getting there, she reached little hands up onto a mattress that came above her head, eyes narrowing in concentration. Swinging her little feet, she hauled herself onto the edge of the mattress closest to her sleeping father. Determination etched clearly in her bright eyes, she reached over and carefully shook him out of his light sleep._

"_Come on Daddy!" She whispered excitedly when he looked at her through bleary eyes. "If u don't be gettin' up, we'll be missin' the sun risin'!"_

_He chuckled softly as he sat up in the bed, pulling his shirt from where it hung on the corner of the bed. "Alright, little squirrel," he lightly kissed her on top of the head. "I'm going. Don't worry, just give me a few minutes and I'll be out there. We'll see the sunrise. Now, you and your brother can go downstairs and put your boots on."_

_She giggled happily, but did her best not to awaken her 'sleeping' mother. After letting him lower her to the ground, she walked quietly out of the bedroom, relaying the message to Zak – who was still waiting outside the door._

_Catti-brie listened as they went down the stairs to put their boots on. Opening her eyes all the way, she watched as Drizzt pulled his arms into the sleeves of his shirt and tunic. She smiled as she observed the familiar movements._

"_Those two are becoming more and more like you." She said quietly, surprising him. He turned and smiled at her, bending down and kissing her tenderly. "I think that they'll both become rangers like you – especially Aimee. She learns as quickly as you do. She's already learning how to speak two other languages. And don't forget that she already knows how to read drow and common."_

_He chuckled as he lightly kissed the top of her head. "Yes, but they get their stubborn streak from you and you alone." He belted his weapons around his waist. "The twins inherited that from you also, though not nearly as strongly."_

_She smiled as she watched him walk out the door, pulling his well worn cloak from the hook next to the door. He walked quietly down the stairs and pulled on his boots on the threshold before joining his eldest and youngest outside. After helping Aimee to do the new clasp on her cloak correctly, he led them to the private ledge on which they were able to watch the sunrise without anyone else finding them._

__  
  
_That afternoon, Catti-brie made her way towards the open fields where she knew that there would be other children playing. Normally Aimee went off on her own, or with her father, but that afternoon, Zak was having weapons training, so she couldn't play with Drizzt. She had decided to go and play with the other children of Lonelywood._

_On the field, a large, rectangular area had been marked off by long strips of white clothe. On the shorter sides of the area, a tall, rectangle net had been set up. In the middle of the setup field, a group of small children was gathered anxiously around a tall figure holding what appeared to be a ball, in his hands. His golden hair glinted in the sunlight, as the same with the mithril earrings that glinted along the edge of his pointed ears._

"_The game that we are going to play today is called football." The elf smiled, his twilight eyes sparkling brightly in his ethereally beautiful face. That smile was infectious and the children all cheered. "I'll split you up into two teams, and your job will be to kick this ball into the net that belongs to the other team. You can choose one person to guard the net. The rules are that the ball can't go outside the boundaries and you can't touch the ball with your hands."_

"_Can I play Mikhail?" Catti-brie recognized the tall elf as the little elfling that she hadn't seen in years. "I really wanna play!"_

_Children in the group turned as Aimee ran over to them, stepping over the boundary and running towards the group, her white hair fluttering out behind her. Her lavender eyes sparkled as she walked right up to the elf and wrapped her arms around his legs, smiling up at the familiar face. The other children looked at her and the older ones frowned._

"_Why should we let a half breed like you play with us Aimee?" The oldest boy, the same age as Zak, scowled down at her, his pale eyes darkening with anger. "You're too small and slow to play with us."_

_Other children in the group nodded their head in agreement, all looking the four-year-old up and down. Their young eyes were filled with angry and disapproval._

_Aimee's eyes filled with tears and she looked down at her boots, arms falling limply to her sides. Catti-brie started walking faster, seeing the familiar sadness in her eyes at not being accepted that she had seen in the eyes of her other children before. Aimee sniffed and began walking away._

"_Now, wait a minute!" Mikhail walked over and placed his hand on the little girl's shoulder. She looked up at him through her bright eyes. "Now, I don't see any reason for her not to play. I've seen her play and I bet that she plays better than most of the people here!" He smiled down at her. "Especially since I've taught her a lot at playing the game myself."_

_Children looked at him, clearly shocked. "Why did you teach her? She's half drow, and we all know that drow elves are evil and want to do nothing more than kill us!" One of the younger girls piped up, her clear eyes locking with those twilight orbs._

_He smiled gently and knelt to look in her eyes. "Aye, drow are evil, but not all of them are." His soft voice was gentle and understanding. "Her father, Ranger Do'Urden, a drow, follows the good goddess Mielikki, and protects your fair town of Lonelywood. He is also the one who saved me from death when I was a child, giving himself over to other drow to be tortured in the process. I owe him my life He is one in a million, and would give his life to save any one of yours."_

_Some of the other children looked at him in disbelief as he spoke quietly. Aimee sat on his leg, leaning against his chest. She smiled up at him._

"_My daddy also stopped a lot of people from bein' hurt when they tried to come up here and make the people dead." Her eyes were bright as she spoke proudly of her father. Catti-brie jumped in surprise as a black-skinned hand came to rest on her shoulder. Drizzt smiled down at her. He had been listening to the small conversation for a while now. "And when I'm bigger, he's goin' t' teach me how t' keep the Ten-Towns safe, like he does!"_

_His were smiling as he looked at his daughter. The group had started to play and Mikhail was laughed as he refereed the game and kept the score. Aimee laughed and giggled happily as she played with the children._

_Her heritage wasn't a problem this time. At least, for the time being._

**  
**  
"So, you are looking to learn how to use a pair of stilettos, my friend." Gabriel's eyes continued to look over the grassy plains that were at the edges of the city. "And may I ask you why you would like to learn how to use these weapons?"

Drizzt looked at the Luchién Lord, looking deep into those violet eyes. His own lavender ones grew cold as he looked at him. "They are better for an assassination type of kill, and they are easier to carry." His voice was soft and as cold as Gabriel had ever heard it. "And besides, I could go through the halls of the layout without gathering much attention."

Gabriel sighed. The ranger knew that he had originally been trained to be an assassin, and was one of the few that knew how he knew how to use the stiletto knife in that type of profession. He hadn't ever wanted to think about that again, but he knew that he owed the drow a favor for what he had done the night before.

"Aye, I will teach you to use them, though you will also want to learn how to use a pair of long knives as well. Stilettos will do you no good if it comes down to hand to hand combat." His voice was soft as he turned to the stoic ranger. He rose and began to walk back to the city. "Meet me here tomorrow morning. Your lessons will begin then."

Without another word, he left Drizzt Do'Urden to his own tortured thoughts.  
  
**[A/N]  
**Stilettos are basiccally wicked cool knives. I got the idea from the books Dhampire and Thief of Lives, where one of the characters uses them for assassinations and weapons. More info in the next chapter. If you wanna see what they look like, do a google image search. Also, please review . . . it really feeds the plot bunnies. Reviews are appreciated.


	17. Secrets Being Kept

**Chapter Seventeen – Revenge**

Light flooded the cold stone room, lighting upon the figure that was curled on the ground in a small pool of congealing blood. Tired, pained blue eyes looked up at the sudden intrusion to the darkness that had swamped after the torch had gone out. It seemed like so long had passed since those lights had gone out and she had been thrown into utter darkness that only places deep under the mountains could bring.

Hope was beginning to abandon her mind, however slowly. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen the stars and the sun. Her human eyes longed for the light and her pupils dilated from the light she hadn't seen in a long time.

Kelnozz smirked as he knelt and looked into her eyes with his own crimson red ones glowing with a dark, evil light that made her blood run cold in her veins. She held her breath, blue eyes wide with fear.

"What are you planning to do to me?" Her voice was shaking slightly as she met those chilling eyes. "For what reason have you been keeping me like this?"

"Do you remember what happened to your husband after we captured him?"

His voice chilled her down to the bone. It suggested things that were dark and frightening, but saying them as if they were alluring. She swallowed thickly, meeting his eyes even though she was afraid of what she could see glinting within those crimson pools. Smiling sardonically, he pulled the many thronged whip from his belt, showing it to her.

It was spiked with little silver pikes, sharp and glinting in the faint light. Dried blood was soaked onto some of them and onto the black, braided leather thongs. Bile rose in her throat as she thought of the possibilities of what that whip had been used for.

"It took hours to make him scream." His voice was filled with a pleasure that made her choke. His laugh filled her heart with dread as he caressed the braided leather strings. "By the time we were finished with him, he had screamed himself hoarse. Breaking him had given me pleasure that I haven't felt in years." He turned to look into her sickly pale face. "He called out for his friends, and his father." He looked to the reincarnated Zaknafein standing calmly in the corner with the hood of his cloak pulled low.

"He called out for you the longest in the end, my dear Catti-brie."

He bent low and whispered softly in her ear. "Next, another of his enemies came to us, wanting his own revenge, and to add his own scar to that of your husband." He stood and began to walk around her in slow circles. "Now, for your information, I will tell you that he has always preferred the company of men to his bed. Rare, yes, but ultimately true.

"His reaction to our dear ranger was that, his skin was as soft as a woman's, and his face nearly as fair." Catti-brie looked down at the ground, unable to hide her growing horror. "When he say the look in his eyes, he knew instantly the best way to scar him."

His smile widened as he spoke again. "He took the innocence that he knew Ranger Do'Urden valued above near all else."

That was all she could take. She turned onto her stomach and emptied was little contents there were in her stomach. She dry heaved after her stomach was emptied, coughing and choking. Tears formed in her eyes as she thought about what the drow mercenary had told her.

That wasn't what he had told her.

Kelnozz smiled widely, looking towards his soldiers in the room, nodding and looking towards where Catti-brie was lying on the ground and coughing miserably. They walked towards her, surrounding her on all sides. Two stepped forward and lifted her by the arms, lifting her from the ground. She struggled the best she could, but the conditions of her captivity had left her too weak to pull out of their grasp.

"I think we will be trying to see how long you'll last, even though we won't use the same whip, no." He talked to her as she was chained with her back against the cold stone wall. "I hate to say this, especially to your face, but humans are much weaker, especially the females. I would _hate_ to have you die on me while I am having fun with this. Though, if you were a drow female, I would have no problems using this whip "

She scowled up at him, but didn't say anything – she didn't trust her voice in such matters. She didn't want to make the punishment that she was taking any worse than she already knew it would be. She remembered what had happened during Drizzt's captivity – what they had done to him.

_Drizzt's entire back was a raw, bloody mess, and the renegade ranger was shaking visibly. A small pool of blood had formed beneath his naked body, and he was curled in on himself, and it was a miracle to her that he wasn't screaming in pain._

She was surprised that the drow hadn't removed her shirt. Drizzt had told her how crude the drow could truly be when they wanted to be. His descriptions had been vivid – normally the drow stripped their victims naked before beginning their tortures.

According to the ranger, it would expose the parts of the body that were far more sensitive to the pain.

"Well, my dear Catti-brie, I guess you will finally be able to experience a wee bit of what your husband felt while he was with us." He bent to whisper into her ear.

"Enjoy."

The braided leather of the single-thronged whip brought a line of stinging, burning fire across her shoulder blades as Kelnozz brought the whip down hard. She choked by a cry – surprised by the burning pain brought on by that single stroke. Kelnozz only smiled as he brought the whip down again. So long had passed since he had had a playmate that could play with him longer than the others (demented, I know, but couldn't resist .).

He brought the strokes down, slowly and deliberately, bringing out the pain of the thongs as sharply as he could for the woman. Catti-brie held back her cries for as long as she could, but in her condition it didn't last very long. After a while, she cried out on pain as each individually laid stroke was laid down upon her tender skin.

Black edged her vision and she was shaking softly from pain and exertion. Tears stained her cheeks and her head was spinning. She couldn't remember how long she had cried out for her lover, but she was beginning to think that it was all hopeless.

The last thought that flittered through her mind as the darkness over whelmed her was that maybe he wasn't even trying to come to her aid . . .

****

_Catti-brie smiled slightly as she watched her husband and her eldest son sparring in the large chamber of their home. Zaknafein had been training for a year now with the long, slightly curved sword and the pair of long knives that he had taken up a year ago when he had turned sixteen. He was already taller than his father and had girls from Lonelywood flirting shamelessly with him whenever he went into town. A small frown formed on her face as she remembered how distant he had been towards the girls lately. Not to mention staying in his room longer and becoming more and more distant towards his father, and hardly speaking to him._

_Mikhail sat in a corner with his sketchbook, charcoal sticks, and the little knife he used to sharpen them. Every few minutes he would lift his twilight hued eyes from the parchment and look at the two fighting in the middle of the room. Catti-brie smiled as she thought of the talent that the 23-year-old elf held within his hands whenever he used the black substance to capture images if the people around him._

_Aimee was sitting next to him, watching her father and brother fighting. Every now and then she would look over to see what Mikhail was drawing, and when she did look, her lavender eyes would widen in amazement. She was already training with a bow and had been taught how to use a knife at a young age by her father, in order to defend herself._

_Sylvan and Nalfein were in the fields of Lonelywood, playing with the other children, and probably chatting animatedly with the girls specifically. They were already living up to the word 'teenager.' They continued their archery training on days that Zak and Aimee weren't being taught their lessons. They also had their lessons with their father in the forests and plains._

_With a soft sigh, Catti-brie turned back to watch the fight that was taking place between the two fighters. Zak had been learning fairly quickly, and could face off against his father for at least a full hour. Sometimes he practiced with the pair of long knives, with the sword alone, or even sometimes with the sword in his left hand and a long knife in the other._

_At the moment, he had let his guard falter for a moment, having turned to smile at his mother._

_Drizzt used the opening to his advantage by smacking the broad side of his scimitar against the side of Zak's head, surprising him and knocking him to the ground. The beaten teen looked up at his father through narrowed eyes. Catti-brie saw Aimee roll her eyes as he opened his mouth to speak, only to be cut off by his father._

"_Do not let distractions get to you." He said quietly, sheathing his weapons calmly and stretching out his hand to his eldest son. "I wish that I don't have to tell you that again."_

_Zak's glare only deepened. He stood, brushing his father's hand aside, not meeting those questioning lavender eyes. "You always have to be pointing out things that I do wrong! Why can't you tell me what I'm doing right?"_

_The ranger closed his eyes and sighed. "I don't tell you what you are doing right, because you can do that with surpassing excellence." He softened his voice. "I tell you what you need to improve upon because what you do wrong could be the end of your life. I don't want anything to happen to you, and that is why I want you to improve on the distractions that you provide yourself."_

_Catti-brie walked away from the wall towards her son, but he continued his way and stalked through the door of the room. Drizzt sighed again and sat in a chair, running slender fingers through his long hair. Sometimes trying to be patient with him could be frustrating, especially since he never seemed to listen.  
  
_

****

Metal grated against metal, though it was hardly heard amongst the cheers of the Luchiélt soldiers. Serenity smiled slightly, shaking her head as she continued feeding her son softened vegetables. The soldiers were watching another one of Drizzt's learning sessions – the ones that involved the long knives that Gabriel was teaching him to use. He had already taken to the stilettos easily, as they were not used for fighting.

He had taken to the long, slightly curving knives as if they were merely smaller counterparts of the scimitars that he used so fluently. Watching him learning how to use these weapons frightened the young Lady of the Luchién. It wasn't at all like the drow she had come to know. He had become silent, and hardly even spoke. He kept his complete focus on learning how to use those weapons in such a short period of time.

He was slowly becoming the killer that he so despised.

The hunter was taking a small part of his soul and Drizzt had now idea that it was even happening. She knew that that was happening to him, and yet, when she had mentioned it to him, he had blatantly denied it, looking at her with growing flames in his lavender eyes that had frightened her. That afternoon, as they had been traveling, she had told her husband what had transpired, he had looked at her with his violet eyes, something within them glinting with something unfamiliar to her.

"I know that he feels responsible for what happened to Catti-brie, but I think that something else it happening to him, _mehen_." She looked at him, into his eyes.

He then sighed. He too had noticed the changes that had occurred in the drow ranger, and was worried about what was happening. "I'll talk to him tonight after our training session, _mehen_. He'll be worn out and I'll be able to talk to him privately."

She had smiled, glad that he too had noticed what was happening to Drizzt. "Thank you, love. I appreciate this." She then had kissed him on the cheek before turning back to the road.

Now, Gabriel was fighting hand-to-hand against the ranger, pushing the cheering of the Luchiélt soldiers out of his mind. Metal clanged against metal, the sharp ringing echoing dully amongst the watchers. His arms wove and weave, keeping the other pair of moving long knives at bay. It was amazing how quickly Drizzt had taken to the new weapons, especially since had only been using them for no more than two weeks. They had been traveling for a week – the soonest that Alustriel would allow the drow to begin traveling towards his destination.

Through his training sessions, he had bent out his frustrations about not being able to go immediately to go Catti-brie's aid and save her from the hands of the drow. His movements were as fluid and easy as if her had been training with those knives his entire life rather than the scimitars that he had had always used.

They had been fighting for about an hour straight, which was fairly long, considering that he was still wounded from the encounter with the drow. He fought with a fire in his lavender eyes that betrayed his calm expression as he continued to weave, dodge, parry, slice and stab against the Luchiélt High Lord. Gabriel had yet to break a sweat over the fight.

Without warning, Drizzt dropped to the ground, throwing one foot out and keeping the other beneath him for balance. The sudden drop surprised both Gabriel and the soldiers. The soldiers had never seen him move this quickly before and watched with wide eyes as Drizzt spun on his heel, bringing his foot across the Luchién Lord's heels, knocking him to the ground, safely out of reach of his long knives.

The air was expelled from his lungs as he landed hard on his back. The ranger straddles his chest, knives crossed at his throat. The soldiers were silent. He stared down at Gabriel through hard eyes, emotionless and eerily blank. The High Lord's breath stopped in his throat at the look in the drow's eyes.

It terrified him to meet those eyes.

He swallowed thickly. "Ranger Do'Urden, you won." He took a deep breath. "You can get off of me now." The drow didn't relent. His eyes were wide and his breath came hard, his voice was stern as he spoke. "Ranger Do'Urden."

He jerked as if startled and scrambled to get off of Gabriel. His eyes darted back and forth, looking around at the startled faces of the Luchiélt soldiers. Breathing hard, he ran his shaking had over his face before lifting himself off the ground and running into the woods, squirming his way through the wall of soldiers.

He ran until the stitch in his side was unbearable. He didn't know where he was in the woods – he never traveled to this specific area that often. Breathing hard, he looked around the moonlit clearing, seeing it all through the tears that had welled in his eyes.

He collapsed to his knees, looking down at his hands with wide eyes. He had dropped the long knives back where he had been sparring with Gabriel. He hadn't realized until that moment, though. He had come into this clearing with nothing to defend himself with except the stilettos that he had hidden up his sleeves. His shoulders shook as he buried his face in his hands, unable to stop the tears that poured down his face.

_What have I become?_

He had almost killed the lord of the Luchiélt people. He had, in every training session, thought of Gabriel as one of the drow, which had helped him gain the skills that he had wanted. He hadn't realized how deeply he had begun to believe in that.

_I don't want him taking me over._

It had nearly cost the Luchién his life, and it had been at his own hands.

The thin knife sliced down, tearing another thin line on the skin. He grimaced slightly in pain, but accepted the pain nearly as stoically as nearly everything else – taking this pain as a distraction from everything swirling in his mind. Blood pooled in the wound quickly, pouring down his arms to drip in to the water of the hot springs that he was standing in.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Drizzt Do'Urden cut another tear in the soft skin on the inside of his arm.

The pain helped, the pain helped keep away the pain of what was happening to him. Tears ran down his face as he looked down at the scars covering the insides of his arms with some fading and several fresh and bleeding.

It had all started last year, after his captivity with the drow. Even Catti-brie hadn't noticed. The burn of the knife wounds had kept his mind off of the events for a time, and by the spring he had stopped.

After Catti-brie had been kidnapped, it had been the only way to escape again.

Forcing down a cry of pain, he plunged his arms into the hot waters, the burning pain searing through his arm and into his body. He shuddered as he leaned against the edge of the pool. The burning slowly decreased, but the memory of the pain did not. (A/N Believe me, that really does hurt like hell.)

The pain was the only way to escape.  
  
**A/N  
**Hey people! I'm finally updating! I'm sorry that I haven't updated sooner, but school started last week and I haven't had much time on the computer. And hey! I got an idea for another story. Forgotten Realms in today's world. Cat, Drizzt, and Wulfgar all in highschool!! Tell me what ya think when you review this!!! And all reviews are welcome!! --  
_--RangerDo'Urden  
-btw, there is supposed to be a break between the cutting part and the comment about Gabriel's life._


	18. Calm Before the Storm

**Chapter Eighteen - Revenge**

When Catti-brie finally awakened, it was to a pounding headache and pain shooting throughout her entire back. She groaned softly in pain as she slowly opened her eyes, trying to gain her bearings for where she was. She had apparently been moved from the cold, dank cell that the drow had originally been keeping her in into these chambers.

Two torches lit the entire place and she was surprised to find a soft, sodn mattress beneath her fingers. She felt something soft bound about her sore, and horribly lacerated wrists. When she looked, she saw that her wrists were bound to solid oak, highly polished, bed posts. Her breaths sped up in her throat and her sapphire eyes widened as her thoughts whirled.

They were planning on doing the same things to her as had happened to Drizzt.

"My, my, my, I didn't think that I would be able to tell people that I had seen the strong, brave Catti-brie, with such a horrified look on her face." She looked over her shoulder, trying her hardest not to wince in pain as she minor movement strained all of the muscles in her overly abused back. She berated herself for not hearing the door opening. "I guess I'll have something else to tell your husband when he finally gets here." His smirk widened as he walked towards the bed, clad in nothing else besides his leggings and boots. "Oh yes, dear Catti-brie, of course I knew that he would come after you. He's only a few miles from here as it is, and only has to find the right way in and he'll be led directly into this room, where he will likely find his worst nightmare."

Fear found its way into the young woman's eyes as she watched him slowly remove his boots, his eyes never leaving her. She struggled against the ropes that held her tightly against the bedposts, but it was of no use. He laughed softly, climbing onto the bed and watching her struggle. Pleasurable feelings welled inside of him as he watched her struggling to move as far as she could away from him. It had been a while since he had seen one struggle so to get away from his touch. The other women that his band would capture just gave in and let them have their way, wanting it all over with as soon as possible.

"You are very attractive, for a human female, dear Catti-brie." He smiled sardonically as he watched her, crawling slowly across the wide, double bed and lying besides her. He reached out his hand to touch the side of her face. She jerked at the touch of his cold fingers as if that black skin had burned her. Her eyes were wide and frightened. Never before had she felt something like this rushing through her system. "I can see why our dear Ranger would have chosen you as a matron."

"What do you mean by 'Matron'?" Catti-brie stilled her movements and looked into the crimson eyes that had been taking in the details of her delicate facial features. "And why do you say that Drizzt would be choosing me as one?"

"As you well know, the females are the dominant gender in the drow society." He sounded bored, almost annoyed. "A matron mother, the head of every household, will select patrons that she, well," he smirked, "uses for her enjoyment. Well, thinking about it, mistress is the term for it o the surface isn't it? Hmm, well, then, I guess I should be calling you his mistress, though, he probably wanted to have the child that he had begotten upon you."

Catti-brie cringed at the mention of the child that he had beaten from her, well, she didn't even know how long ago, as it could've been days or weeks. She had only just told her husband that she was with child, and had loved the look on his face when she had told him. It had been the happiest that she had seen the drow since their wedding day, and a longer time before that. Kelnozz's next words snapped her from her reverie.

"I am guessing that I am correct on the fact that he indeed wanted to have that child." He leaned forward, close enough that his lips were a mere breath away from touching hers, and she could do nothing about it. She stared up into his slanted crimson eyes and saw the glinting of pleasure within their depths. "Well, I'm thinking that I may have as solution to your problem, my dear Catti-brie."

"What do you mean?" An edge of fear had found a way into her voice, and she shivered as she felt him menuver himself so that he was straddling her without actually touching her. He had an ebon skinned arm on either side of her shoulders, and lowered himself into a push-up motion so that he was as close to her as he had been before.

"Why don't you let me show you the answer rather than me tell you?" The glint in his eyes made her shiver in fear. "It would be so much more fun for me, now, wouldn't it?"

He moved on of his hands, pulling her shirt away from her stomach and torso, touching the soft skin of her flattened belly. She made a faint sound of protest without meaning to, trying to move away from his touch, but she was caught, and unable to escape from what she knew was going to happen. He only pressed down upon one of the bruised ribs that she had accumulated during the beating only a week or so previous. She cried out and tried to curl away from the sudden, unexpected pain. Smirking in his usual sardonic fashion, Kelnozz used the oppertunity to slide his hand higher and further into her shirt, roughly cupping one breast in his hand, causing her to cry out at the unwanted touch.

"You are a beautiful woman, Catti-brie," he whispered delicately into her ear, biting the lobe, earning another cry of protest from the helples woman. "And you are one that I will have, whither you will me to or not..."

* * *

Ilmaik looked up from his magical mirror as he heard the door to his private room open. He didn't know why, as Kelnozz had instructed him to keep an eye on the renegade while he had fun with his wife. He had kept an eye on him through the mirror, which had come in handy after killing its original owner. The sight that met him at the door surprised the wizard more than anything.

Zaknafien's cold amber eyes watched him from beneath the darknened cowls of his cloak. One hand rested in the blackened leather handle of the whip that Kelnozz had gotten for him, along with the magical sabers belted at his sides. The conflict that usually appeared behind those piercing orbs was gone - replaced by a look that showed that he had become resolute in whatever conflict had been going on.

The long, leather thong of the whip lashed out faster than the eye could see, its long braided leather snapping around the drow wizard's tongue. Zaknafein jerked the whip sharply, cutting the tongue from Ilmaik's mouth. He collasped to the floor, looking up into those cold amber eyes.

He could no longer control the reincarnation.

Crimson eyes wide, the wizard scrambled toward the doorway, only to be stopped by a long, tapering saber coming to rest with a clang in the ground before him. He looked up and up, and stopped at the cloaked darkness of the hood.

Again faster than the eyes could see, the saber came down upon the wizard's neck, severing the tendons and letting the headless body fall limply to the ground, blood spurting from the neck, where the head should have been. The head rolled a few feet towards the closed door and the reincarnated drow watched as it rolled. The slender featured face was frozed in a frightened look, the crimson eyes wide with fear from the knowledge of his impending death.

The reincarnation gave the corpse a cold look before walking over to where the mirror sat upon the dresser in the corner. He was careful not to sit in the chair that the wizard had sat in, not wanting to risk any magical traps being sprung. He leaned down and looked into the mirror, knowing full well whom he was looking at it.

"Usstan dalharuk(1)," he whispered, looking at the lone figure in the reflecting glass, recognizing the drow ranger that he hadn't seen in near thirty years. "Uss'tan yorn xxizz dos inbau ilta rath(2)."

* * *

_The drow ranger knocked on the door of the room, sighing softly as is garnered no response from the room's occupant. It had been hours since the events of the afternoon, since his disagreement with his eldest son. Aimee had already tried to talk to him, as had Mikhail, but neither had been able to convince him to come out, even to eat their meal that night. Catti-brie had gone up while everyone had been finishing up, with a bowl of warm soup, a few slices of freshly made bread, and a chunk of cheese leftover from the meal._

_The adolescent had only taken the tray into his room with a muttered thanks._

_She had been worried for him and had talked to her husband about it. Drizzt had agreed that, yes, he indeed need to apologize. Normally he wouldn't admit it, but this time he admitted it and that he shouldn't have yelled at him for having made a simple mistake. It could be fixed with practice and with no need for such an argument. He also said that he knew he had been hard on the boy recently, taking after his own father in that aspect - Zak was farther than he had been at that age and he should be appreciating it._

_Drizzt knocked again, listening for any sounds of someone on the other side. _

_Only silence answered him._

_"Zak?" He called quietly, listening. "Are you in there?" Taking a deep breath he added, "I wanted to apologize, Zak, so please open the door." _

_The ensuing silence was slowly beginning to frighten the ranger. It wasn't like the almost 17-year-old to not open the door, even when he was angry, as long as someone was apologizing, or had a good reason to be talking to him. Or, at least, the boy would talk to either his baby sister or to Mikhail, whom had been living with them and had been learning weapins and ranger training from the drow._

_Finally, Drizzt sighed, pushing open the door as he spoke. "Zak, you know that I came to -"_

_The sight that greeted him stopped the ranger dead in his tracks. His breath caught in his throat as he looked upon the bed._

_Zak was lying deathly still on the bed, one hand still clamped loosely over the knife that had blood dripping from the edge, congealing and dried. There were numerous cuts on his arms - both of them. Blood dripped from the tips of his delicately curled fingers. His breaths appeared shallow and rattled in his throat. Drizzt rushed to the bedside, kneeling besides his son on the coverlet and taking his head into his lap. He lightly touched the edge of his face, whispering the teen's name softly under his breath._

_"Zak, wake up." He gently shook that unconscious form, trying to get a reaction. Close to frantic, he called out for help. "Catti-brie!"_

_She ran up the stairs, a worried eight-year-old girl and a 23-year-old elf at her heels. When she got to the door, she froze, her breath caught in her throat and her eyes widening, shaking her head slowly from side to side. She reached out a shaky hand and pulled a wide-eyed Aimee behind her, trying to reach back and cover her eyes. Mikhail noticed her shaking and did it himself._

_"Get a healer, please, now." Her voice was choked and shaking. She looked back at Mikhail as she walked slowly into the room and sa besides where her son and husband were on the bed. Mikhail nodded and brought Aimee with him, not wanting the young girl to see the state that her brother was in. "I had no idea." She whispered, sitting beside her husband and looking up into his lavender eyes._

_"Neither did I." His voice was choked as he gently brushed the roan colored hair from the young half-drow's face. "And I should've been able to recognize the signs." Catti-brie looked at him with sympathy and tears glittering in her eyes as she saw the tears rolling down face and his shoulders shaking. "I should've been able to stop this from happening." He turned fro her, leaning down to rest his forehead against that of his eldest son. "I've been too hard on him, and I should've seen it sooner." His voice broke and she rested a hand on each of his shoulders, placing her cheek on the back of one of his slender shoulders._

_"No one else is to blame but myself for any of this."_

_"No its not."_

_A soft voice caused both of them to look down into the bleary blue eyes of their son. His breaths were soft and shallow as his eyes wandered over his father's face. "It's not your fault."_

_Drizzt only shook his head._

_"Nau(3)," he whispered, holding his eldest close. "Nau, it is all mine."_

* * *

Drizzt sat, knees bent, legs pulled tightly to his chest. His long hair hung long and wet down his bare back as he looked across the water to the bare stone of the mountain. It had been an hour at least since he had run from camp, and he was afraid of going back - afraid of hearing the reactions of the Luchielt soldiers.

But he was even more terrified of facing Gabriel and what had happened. Serenity would be even harder to face.

He hadn't believed her when she had mentioned to him that he had become more and more ruthless and willing to do anything to get Catti-brie back. She had been afraid that what had happening would have an affect on his soul that would lead to something even more scarring that what had already happened. She was right - he would never be able to forgive himself if he ever completely gave in to the hunter again.

He would never be able to face any of his friends again - not even his dear Catti-brie.

His lavender eyes were glazed over in thought, the darkened flames that regularly lit them seeming to have been extinguished from their normally brilliant depths. At that moment he wished for nothing more than to be embraced in Catti-brie's comforting arms and not have to think about his pain. He wanted nothing more than to hear the soothing advice of his long-lost father.

But it was because of him that she was in the captivity of drow mercenaries.

It was because of him that Zaknafein had been brought out of his peaceful existance within the Abyss.

Tears flowed down his hollowed cheeks as he looked down at his torn arm. He hadn't wanted to resort back to this - he had thought that he was done, but the pain was the only thing keeping the hunter at bay now. The cuts were deeper than he had ever done, and were still stinging like hell from the burning hot water. He knew that if any found out, they wouldn't be able to trust that we wasn't doing it again.

Life would never be the same again.

Especially since it was falling apart before him.

In his heart, he knew that Catti-brie would be changed forever from whatever abuse that Kelnozz inflicted upon her. He and his band were all as ruthless and cruel as they came, likely moreso. He shuddered at the thought of what they could be doing to her at that moment and he remembered what had been done to Serenity - even in the late stages of her pregnancy. And to think of what would happen to the child that she carried . . . these thoughts had given him nightmares for weeks, and would for years to come.

A rustling coming from the trees made the normally fully alert ranger jump out of his skin as he sprang to his feet, whirling around to meet whomever it was that was coming up upon him. He took a stiletto that he still had with him - one of the only two weapons on him and cocked it into a throwing position.

"It is alright, my friend, it is only me." Gabriel lifted his hand in front of him, showing that he had no weapons. His voice was soft and his eyes were gentle, and full of understanding. "We were worried when you did not return." Serenity followed her husband into the clearing, staying near him as he approached the drow. "So, we came after you."

"Why?" The question was soft and hesitant coming from the ranger. He turned his head to the side, unable to meet the Luchien Lord's eyes. "Why did you come back after what I did?" His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. "If your voice hadn't cut through my thoughts, I would've killed you."

"No you wouldn't have." Gabriel's voice was reassuring to Drizzt's uptight nerves. "I know in my heart, Ranger Do'Urden, that you wouldn't have been able to kill me, or anyone in my camp."

Lavender eyes snapped up to meet the stern, unmoving violet ones. "How do you know that?" Drizzt's voice was slowly raising. "How can you trust me after what happened in camp? How do you know that the Hunter will not overcome me?" He had backed into the tree, trying to get as far away from them as possible in his shame. "You know that it has been slowly taking me over."

Serenity walked forward, her green eyes full of sorrow and sympathy. "Aye, we do, but that does not mean that you can't do something about it. You have to pull yourself together, because I know that you can controll the Hunter within you, I know that you can keep it from rearing its head. Catti-brie's life is depending on whither or not you can keep your control, and that you are able to use your quick mind to out manunver the drow."

Her eyes were filled with tears as she held her sleeping baby close to her, trying to stop from shaking. "And we both know that it is because of that that you will be able to save her. We cannot go in there with you, Ranger Do'Urden, and you know this." She looked into his haunted eyes and swallowed thickly. "We are close to the entrance, so if you would like, I will bring you their this night."

He sighed, leaning against the tree and sighing, running his fingers through his long hair. He did know that. He had known it all the while. He just hadn't been able to believe it. The drow took a deep breath, trying to clear his thoughts as he put on his shirt, tunic, and armor. As he strapped his scimitars to his hips, he thought about the meaning of her words. He thought about everything that had been happening. He wondered, even, if they had noticed the cuts and scars on his arms. As he readied to follow Serenity, he noticed the long knives that had had dropped were being held towards him by Gabriel. He shook his head.

"I can't . . ."

Gabriel smiled. "I've never had a better student, and you will be able to use these someday, if not tonight."

Drizzt gave a shallow bow to the Luchielt Lord. "Thank you."

Without another word, he followed Serenity as she walked along the stone wall of the mountains, looking at it everyso often and trying to remember. When they reached an area of overgrown bushed and brush, she turned towards the stoically silent drow.

"This is the entrance, Ranger Do'Urden." She said softly, smiling faintly. "We will be bringing our camp here, so that you will be able to bring her here for any medicinal help."

"Thank you, Lady Serenity." With another bow, he crawled through the bushes and into the cave entrance, already calling upon the help of his panther friend.

* * *

(1) My son

(2) I will help you get her back

(3) No

**A/N**  
Hey people! I know that it has been a while since I updated. TT-TT Please don't kill me! I have had way the hell too much homework and my dad took away my computer. :'( I have to share one with my sibs. _Points gun at head._ There is also the whole factor of there being no Micro. Word! Grrr. So, if there are any spelling errors or missing funny letters, I am really sorry!! I will try and post another chapter as soon as I can, but I believe that that will be in two weeks at least. TT-TT sorry! And I'd like to thank any reviewers! I am really thank ful! An please! R&R!! They are appreciated!!!


	19. Lost Mentor

**

* * *

Chapter Nineteen - Revenge**

She curled away from the sleeping form of the lead mercenary, trying not to awaken him from the deep slumber that he had slipped into after he had finished with her. She wrapped her arms around herself, glad that they had been untied, but not about to go anywhere - Kelnozz had informed her about the many guards and locked doors.

_At least now I can understand what he went through,_ she thought, tears running down her face as she thought about her husband, thinned shoulders shaking with sobs. It was unbelievable. A month or so ago, she had thought that something like this would ever happen to her, that the drow that had originally captured Drizzt were dead, and would never again come back.

Everything around her was quiet, which made the echoing sounds in her head all the louder to her mind. She shivered from more than cold, and wished that she could undo the past, but she knew that she couldn't. It was impossible, and she would never be able to forget the events that happened this night . . .

. . . Or the rest of the time that she had been under the captivity of the drow.

A sob escaped her throat as she buried her face in her bare arms, letting the tears fall from her eyes.

If she could, she would scrub herself thoroughly; try to rid herself of the memories of his unwanted, disgusting touch of his flesh on hers.

Her breathing hitched. She knew that in her heart, she would never be able to forget that feeling. It was too unlike the feeling of her first time with her husband. Whereas Drizzt had been gentle and loving, Kelnozz had done what he had done only to hurt and scar her.

He had done it only to hurt and scar his adversary.

Silent sobs shook her thinned and ragged frame, the whip marks burning like fire across her back and bruises from the beating standing out starkly against the white of her skin. Her hair had long ago loosened from the braid she had originally had it in, and fell about her shoulders, shot through with dried blood and dirt. Her body shook and trembled, still in shock from the violation that had occurred no more than an hour ago.

She let the tears pour down her face as she wished that the world would end.

* * *

The drow male made its way down the hall, not saying a word and keeping the cowl of his hood low, making his way slowly towards the dungeon that was separated from the others.

The chambers that had once contained the wife of his son.

He knew where she was, but he knew that his son wouldn't know that she had been taken to another set of private hidden chambers. He kept his amber eyes moving beneath the hood of his cloak, keeping an eye on the hallway and looking at the several guards closely, especially their eyes, searching for the familiar flash of lavender.

He needed to find his son before he was caught by the other drow.

* * *

He walked steadily into the torture chamber, shutting his eyes against the memories and concentrating on what he was here to do – on who he was here to save.

Drizzt Do'Urden took a deep breath as he continued into the room wherein he had spent a month of tortured captivity. Memories of blood, sweat, and tears, raged through his mind as he continued forward, clearing the stilettos from the wrist sheaths that he wore hidden beneath the sleeves of his shirt and tunic. He closed his eyes as he changed his sight from that of the world of light to that of the infrared spectrum. The heat patterns on the walls where familiar, and yet unfamiliar, as he continued across the room, swallowing thickly.

The last thing that he wanted was for the painful memories to come up and swallow him.

The drow ranger had nearly crossed the room, was nearly to the door, when he stepped in a thick, congealing liquid. He looked down, though he knew that he wouldn't be able to see it in the infrared, as the heat had already left the entire puddle. The thought of what it could possibly be made his breath catch in his throat.

Blood.

And more than likely, that was what it was. He swallowed thickly and clenched his fist, closing his eyes and pushing those thoughts away - they wouldn't help him at that moment. He had to keep a sharp mind.

He couldn't fail to do this.

He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he did.

Determined, Drizzt stood, hands resting casually on the hilts of his scimitars. He took a deep breath as he ran his fingers over the familiar patterns and carvings. He once again headed towards the door, using the uncanny ability of the drow to get close to the door without making a sound, and carefully picking the lock on the other side. Quickly, silently, he crept out of the door, careful not to catch the attention of any of the guard patrols. Quietly drawing one of the stilettos hidden up his sleeves, he snuck up behind the one and slit his throat, pulling him aside and hiding him in a deep crevice. He removed his own cloak, replacing it with the guard's _piwifwi_, using the enchanted clothe to blend in the cold of the stone.

That taken care of, he once again headed down the long hallway, allowing his senses to direct him towards wherever the drow were keeping her. He hoped that it would be awhile before anyone found the murdered black elf so that he could get out of here safely, and without having to worry about anything hindering their escape to the surface.

He pulled the hood of his cloak down low, not wanting any of the other drow to be able to recognize him for who he was, until he got to wherever it was that Catti-brie was being kept. He lowered his eyes whenever he passed one of the patrols, not wanting anyone to recognize him and set off the alarms.

He wound his way through the passages, using his instincts to guide him, more or less guessing his path and hoping that it would lead him to the right room. He knew that she would be placed in a separate cell from the rest of them.

Kelnozz wouldn't want the task of finding her to be too easy for him.

Drizzt didn't notice when the figure behind him stopped, (the person) knowing who he was. The person wrapped his arm around the neck of his cloak, surprising the ranger as he yanked him into a hidden room in the stone of the hallway. He struggled against the strong hold, not wanting to be trapped, but at the same time, curious as to what kind of a drow would approach one like this and take them hostage, without taking a weapon to his throat? He stiffened in surprise at the drow words that were whispered into his ear.

"Uss'tan elggen l'faern quarth uns'aa.(1)" The voice was familiar, and Drizzt allowed himself to relax slightly. "Uss'tan tlun aluin ulu xxizz dos inbau ilta rath.(2)"

He turned when the arm around his neck loosened, and he looked briefly at the hallway before speaking. "Shlu'ta uss'tan khaless nindel nindol zhah Zaknafein telanthaad?(3)"

The white eyebrow furrowed, before smoothing in understanding. He knew that Drizzt had been through a rough time the year before. He had heard Kelnozz's recounting to Catti-brie. "De'heen. (4) Uss'tan orn jous dos l'khel de' l'faern.(5)"

Drizzt looked into those amber eyes for a long time, reading what was in them. He saw hope for trust, and truth. They was Zak had talked had been enough for the part of his heart that had been longing to speak with him again, but the look in his eyes was enough to convince him. "Uss'tan z'reninth dos.(6) Ventas l'idol ulu ilta.(7)"

* * *

**Translations:**

(1) I killed the wizard controlling me.  
(2) I am going to help you get her back.  
(3) Can I trust that this is Zaknafein speaking?  
(4) Of course.  
(5) I will show you the corpse of the wizard.  
(6) I believe you.  
(7) Lead the way to her.

**A/N**  
Hello there people! I'm updating again! aren't you excited! Dodges thrown food. TT-TT Bows. I'm really sorry! sob Hockey started this week so I had like NO time on the computer! And it doesn't end until Febuary!cries So updates are going to be fewer and far between, I'm sorry! But they'll be long, angsty ones I promise you! Please review, I have to get off before my parents wake up, its 3 in the morning and I have school at 7:30. Bye bye! and review!


	20. FoundBound

**A/N** Song used is "Slither" by Velvet Revolver.

**Chapter Twenty – Revenge**

_Hey Hey Hey_

Catti-brie froze as she felt the drow beside her stiffen, slowly awakening from his slumber. She didn't know what had caused him to awaken – she had remained as quiet as she could – not wishing for him to come into awareness. He raised his head, looking around, but not seeming to notice her. He cursed, walking towards his chamber door and opening it, peering around outside before shutting it quickly and locking all of the locks along the edges. He cursed quietly, looking towards where she was still tied to the bed.

"It seems as if something happened to the wizard, my dear slave." A smirk found its way across his features as he pulled on his leggings. He pulled a knife from the belt that was hanging on the wall. "Zaknafein has escaped the spell placed upon him, and he has a new ally."

His smirk widened as he moved closer to the bed, eying her naked form on the bed with something glinting in his crimson eyes. She whimpered slightly as he reached out faster than she could follow, tangling his fingers in to her already tangled auburn hair. Catti-brie looked up at him with wide, frightened blue eyes.

_When you look you see right through me   
Cut the rope, fell to my knees   
Fallen, broken every single time_

"Your dear husband has found his way with the help of his beloved father, dear Catti-brie. He will be here very soon, but I won't be giving you back to him alive, oh no." He leaned forward to whisper into her ear, slowly licking the lobe, the cold blade of his dagger coming to rest at her jugular. "I want him to see you die, hopeless and afraid." His voice softened coldly. "I want to see the look on his face when he watches your life blood pour from your throat, and I want him to know that it was only because you were the one unfortunate enough to bed him first, and that you were unfortunate enough to carry his spawn."

Catti-brie struggled uselessly as he dragged her off the bed, forcing her to kneel before him, the blade of the knife still digging into the soft skin of her neck. She shivered as her bare legs touched the cold stone ground, with her arms tied tightly behind her. Tears coursed down her face as she forced down sobs. She would not let this monster see her as helpless as she had allowed him to see her before.

She would not allow that.

_Always keep me under finger   
That's the spot where you run to me   
Might see some type of pleasure in my mind_

They continued down the hall, speaking to each other only in the silent hand code of the drow. Drizzt was slower in forming the once lightning fast hand signs and gestures, since it had been so long since he had used them to communicate. It had seemed like hours since they had started in the direction that Zak had been leading, and he was wondering how long it would be until they finally got there.

_How much farther??_ His hands flashed a slight scowl on his face. Zaknafein looked back at him and gestured at the corridor ahead of them.

_Not much longer, just be a little more patient._ There was a near identical scowl on his own black-skinned features. _It is a bit difficult to remember, as I have only actually been there once before._

_Yeah, here comes the water   
It comes to wash away the sins of you and I   
This time you see_

Drizzt continued to follow his father down the halls. He kept his hands on the pommels of his scimitars, ready to draw them if they were ever attacked. He tried to concentrate on what they were doing, but it was difficult. His thoughts kept sliding back to the possibilities of what Kelnozz was doing to Catti-brie in his room. He shook his head as he tried to clear those thoughts. It would only break his concentration during the fight and distract him. He would never be able to forget what had happened to Wulfgar when he had been so protective, and he didn't want the same thing to happen because of it.

A sudden cry came from the other side of the corridor. Both Drizzt and Zaknafein turned at the sound, slight frowns appearing in their faces. Apparently one of the guards had found the decapitated body of the sorcerer in his room and had panicked. Immediately the rest of the drow sounded the almost unheard alarm, alerting any one who had not heard the scream.

The ranger turned to his father, identical smirks appearing on both of their faces.

"Kr'athin ulu inbal fol jivvin? (1)" Zaknafein whispered, drawing his sabres and crouching in a fighting stance.

Drizzt drew his own scimitars, holding them at the ready. "Jahl de'heen Ilharn. (2)"

_Hey hey hey _

When you seek me you destroy me   
Rape my mind and smell the poppies   
Born in blood in every single time

The group of a dozen or more drow came around the corner, Kelnozz's captain, Mikýv'n, leading them. Dozens of tiny crossbow darts flew from the hall, all of them headed straight for the two intruders. Scimitars and sabres spun, their brilliant metals flashing as they blocked the numerous projectiles. Drizzt's blood boiled as he thought of the reasons why they were keeping them from reaching their destination. He fought to keep the hunter at bay – he wanted to remain alert, and he didn't want to cause any harm to his father.

The drow continued to swarm around them, not wanting them to reach their leader's room. They didn't want either of the pair to take back the human wench that they had taken so long to capture. They all knew that they would eventually get their own turn with her before long, mayhap even get a child off of her. They fought for that honour – of being able to rape and scar the wife of the renegade ranger.

Drizzt and Zaknafein stood back to back, slashing and hacking gracefully at the drow that were coming upon them, rage on each of the black-skinned faces. They had intended to get through all of this without having to go through anyone, let alone so many drow.

The pale eyes ranger caught the first wave of attackers easily, and the second after that. He spun out of the way of the pole arm, throwing one of his scimitars in his place and blocking the weapon so as not to cause his father harm. He swung across with the other curved weapon, surprising his attacker and burying the enchanted metal length into the drow's side. His shoulder and arm, the ones pierced by the arrow, burned with pain, though a small feeling of satisfaction wisped through his mind before turning his attention to the next opponent.

_Always keep me under finger   
__That's the spot where you might linger   
__But I see some type of pleasure in my mind_

Zaknafein had a little more trouble keeping his own attackers at bay, though he was unhindered by any injury, unlike Drizzt, though he didn't know that. He brought his rapier up in front of him, snarling insults in his opponents face, distracting the already mindless guard and angering him. Using the distraction, he stabbed inward with the blade, impaling his attacker on the sharpened and magical point.

Honed instincts created a much needed advantage over the many guards – as many of them hadn't been in any actual hand-to-hand combat in a long period of time. They were slower than their adversaries, and feared the looks of anger and rage. Their eyes were glowing amber and lavender in the darkness, the heat of their bodies slightly more visible against the cold of the stone.

Those unique, glowing eyes haunted and followed them into their graves.

All of the drow guards were killed one by one, and only those who didn't attack were saved from the wrath of the ranger that had infected their fortress. After not even a half an hour, the ground was littered with black-skinned bodies with frozen, horrified crimson eyes staring into the walls, ceilings, and floors. Mouths and faces were contorted into silent, pain-filled screams.

Father and son looked at each other over the various corpses. Both were panting from exertion, and Drizzt was holding his throbbing shoulder with one hand, having already had sheathed his scimitars. Zaknafein sighed as he looked down both sides of the hallway. They waited, and caught their breath before continuing down the hallway.

_Yeah, here comes the water   
__It comes to wash away the sins of you and I   
__This time you see   
__Like holy water   
__It only burns faster than you'll ever dry   
__This time with me_

"A mzulst nin nind orn'naut tlu natha priqual vel'drar udos ssuth rath ulu natha zhlass. (3)" The elder one said quietly to the younger as they continued, side by side, both of them on the alert.

"Nindel zhah natha zhlass. (4)" The younger whispered back, only loud enough for the other to hear.

They soon came across the door at the end of the hallway. (a/n yes, discreet isn't he?) Drizzt approached it first, making not a sound as he noticed the multiple locks that had been attached to the door. The fact that he couldn't hear anything happening on the other side frightened and relieved him.

Zaknafein watched as he pulled a small, thin length of metal from a pouch at his belt, sliding it silently into the top lock. With fingers more nimble than those of any thief, he picked the lock, and continued with the others until the last clicked, unlocking.

"Vel'klar xunus dos screa ulu xun nindel? (5)" He asked, looking at the little object with interest.

"Uss'tan pict ol phor pholor l'shinduago. (6)" He responded, slipping the thing back into his waist pouch. He drew out the long knives before opening the door slowly, lavender eyes peering around it to see what was on the other side. His father followed just as quietly.

Lavender eyes widened at the sight that met them.

_When you look you see right through me   
__Cut the rope, fell to my knees   
__Fallen and broken   
__Every single time_

Kelnozz smirk gleefully as he watched the door open. He had known that it would be only a matter of time before that bloody renegade would find him in this place. After all, he did have his newly resurrected father to help him find this place, though it would not be easy.

He tightened his hold on his prize, emitting a faint whimper from Catti-brie as his fingers dug into one of the unsealing lashes that marred her otherwise smooth shoulder. It was one of the few sounds that he had been able to garner out of her all night, and that angered him.

He had wanted to cause her more pain before she died.

His smirk widened even more as the ranger came full into view, his father behind him. There was a light layer of sweat upon his bow, now doubt from the fight that had ensued in the corridor outside of his private chambers. His pale eyes grew wide at the sight that he found there.

_Yeah, here comes the water   
__It comes to wash away the sins of you and I   
__This time you see_

Kelnozz stood towards the back of the large room, near the canopy, four poster bed that was against the back wall. He was wearing only his leggings, and had his usual, sardonic smile across his face. He was looking entirely too pleased with himself.

Catti-brie was kneeling on the ground before him, facing the door. She had been stripped of her clothing entirely, and her sapphire eyes held a haunted look in them that didn't belong there. Her hands were tied tightly behind her back, disabling her from doing anything. Kelnozz's fingers were woven into her tangled hair, pulling back her head and bearing her throat. The knife that lay against the delicate skin had a line of red going around it, a line of blood making its way down her neck.

Her skin was pale and unhealthy looking. On her shoulders, you could just barely see the edges of the lashes that had been laid their. Bruises found their way across her ribs and breasts, stomach and legs. Where her belly had once been swollen in the early stages of pregnancy, it was no longer, but instead was flat, and bruised. There was blood on the insides of her thighs, and he could only guess at what had happened. One of her eyes had been blackened with abuse and her lips was split and bleeding. She whimpered whenever Kelnozz leaned over, his eyes fully on the ranger, and licked long the edge of her rounded ear.

Her eyes were begging, pleading, to get away from him, and her was hopeless to stop anything that happened.

She was begging him for his help.

_Like holy water   
__It only burns faster than you'll ever dry   
__This time with me_

"Well, well, well, by dear ranger," Kelnozz's voice held a sweet, yet maniac tone to it. "It seems to me that we have finally come to a stand still. What are we going to do about it?"

_Hey, hey, hey _

**Translations;**   
**(1)** Ready to have some fun?   
**(2)** But of course, Father.   
**(3)** At least no they won't be a problem when we escape back to the surface.   
**(4)** That is a relief.   
**(5)** Where did you learn to do that?   
**(6)** I picked it up on the surface.

**A/N**   
This chapter came out a lot sooner than I thought it would.  My plot bunnies decided that it was finally time for a return visit! Yay!  (Feeds them loads of carrots, grinning)  And, for the song lyrics, you'll have to listen to the song, and then it'll make a lot more sense.  The lyrics sound a lot different when you actually listen to it.  I figured that I have better get this chapter up tonight.  Tomorrow I have a demonstration at an open house at my school, and a hockey game.  And a ton of homework.  Anyway, please review, and I will hopefully be getting the next chapter up a little sooner than planned.  (With my plot bunnies now on the loose, there'll be a lot more writting.) (Smile)  Reviews are appreciated!!!   
**_--RangerDo'Urden_**


	21. Darkness II

**A/N **Song is "Finding Myself" by Smile Empty Soul.

**Chapter Twenty-One – Revenge**

Drizzt looked down into the pleading blue eyes that were looking straight into his own pale lavender ones. He was slowly shaking his head back and forth. He had dropped the long knives that he had sought to learn to use in such a short period of time. The metallic clang echoed in the silenced room. He bowed his head, fists visibly shaking as they clenched at his sides.

"What have you done?!?"

His voice was angrier than she had ever heard it. It shook with emotion that, if she hadn't known him as well as she did, she would never had thought that he could contain. His eyes held within them a barely contained fury that seemed as if it would burst to a psychotic rage; the pupils shrinking and making their already light colour seem paler, and causing them to stand out more against the ebony of his skin.

Kelnozz's laugh was maniac as he threw his head back, full and throaty, but his grip on the knife and his captive didn't lessen at all. Drizzt's eyes narrowed as a low growl of anger came from his throat.

_I don't care anymore   
__If I let you down   
__I believe that I need to be free   
__I'm so used to my life with you around   
__I don't know anymore the real me_

"What do you think I have done to her, dear ranger?" His smirk widen across his face as he delicately pressed harder on the knife he was holding, close to, and yet not, breaking the skin on Catti-brie's neck. "Look at all the marks on her body and you will see, what we have done to her in order to punish you. We would have done it to you, but you slip out of our grasp all to well, and she, carrying your spawn when we caught her, was less likely to struggle, and more likely to scream."

His grin widened. "Oh, and yes, Ranger Do'Urden, I did have my fun with her. And believe me, it was the most wondrous lay I've had in a long time. She struggled more than any other woman we've captured."

Anger rode over his senses, and he found himself taking a step forward, sliding one of the stilettos from the sheath on his left wrist into his left hand, preparing to throw it from behind his back. Zaknafein remained behind his son, watching how all of this was handled and trying to find a way to get that knife away. He would've used his whip, but the length of the leather thong wasn't long enough to reach that far, nor would he be fast enough to do so.

Kelnozz pressed on the blade hard enough to break the skin and allow a small dribble of blood to run down her throat as she made a pained noise. His smirk had disappeared and had been replaced with a deep scowl.

_And I thought that I found myself today   
__And I thought that I had control   
__All the change in my life just fell away   
__For a moment I didn't need you_

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, renegade and slave of Mielikke. The closer you get the deeper this knife cuts. And you wouldn't want it to cut too far now, would you?"

"Leave her out of this Kelnozz!" His voice was sharp and biting. "None of what you are doing has anything to do with her. Take me in her stead. You know that I will last longer that she ever could in these dungeons. You can do more to me, and I will be able to take and heal that damage faster and better than any human." He voice had softened, pleading and almost desperate. "I beg of you, take me as your own whipping post, or whatever you want to call it, just let her go to the surface and be safe away from here."

Catti-brie's eyes widened as she realized what he was offering. She knew that he would throw himself willingly into the hands of the drow if it meant that it would save someone he loved from a fate worse than death. And he didn't care if he was faced with the torture and suffering that the drow loved to place upon someone. The tears rolled down her cheeks as she looked at the resigned and determined look in his eyes.

He spoke again. "And you know that I am worth more than she is."

Kelnozz's smirk returned as he listened to the offer. How he would enjoy giving the renegade years upon years of pain, but he knew that that would hurt the drow less than any small amount of harm done to his beloved. No harm that he could lay on that scarred black flesh would bring as much hurt to him as if he watched his dearly loved wife and friend. It just wouldn't be the same. Besides, he would also resign himself to his fate and wouldn't give the screams of pain that he had the last time he had been in these dungeons.

_All these tears I've cried you   
__Must be tired of taking care of my but   
__It's what you do best and I'm a liar   
__Cuz really it's what I need_

"What makes you think that I would ever let her go to your arms, even if she did contain the strength to move?" His voice held a cold tone that sent shivers down both her spine and his. "You know what I am and what has been happening, and yet you assume that I would give her to you without a thought?" He gave a low chuckle. "You are a funny one, that you are."

Drizzt's eyes opened and closed slowly as he listened to the mercenary speak. His grip tightened on the knife in his hands, and he suppressed the urge to bury it in that bare black skinned chest that was bare to the cold air of the room. He had expected this, but had been clinging to a small hope that Kelnozz would accept the trade.

Catti-brie gasped and closed her eyes in pain as she felt his fingers tightened their hold on her scalp. His fingernails dug in sharply, and, being pressed against her back as tightly as he was, she could feel that her pain and fear was exciting him. She tried to pull away, but she was too weak, his grip to strong. The cut on her throat deepened as she felt him press harder on the sharp adamantine blade.

His laugh filled the room as she tried to pull away from the blade. He turned and met the angry eyes of the ranger that he had placed between a rock and a hard place. "I was thinking, rather, that I kill her slowly, in front of your eyes, allowing you to watch her die slowly, without being able to do anything about it. Then I would take both you and your father as my slaves. Eventually though, I would allow him to die, also before your eyes, and you would have only yourself to blame. I would let you go, then, after I know that any friend you once had on the surface had died, allowing you to live a lonely and heart broken life without the ones that you care for."

_And I thought that I found myself today   
__And I thought that I had control   
__All this change in my life just fell away   
__For a moment I didn't need you_

His left hand clenched tightly about the knife as he bowed his head, stray hair falling into his face and shielding his pale lavender eyes from view. Catti-brie watched the fine trembling that found its way down his slender frame. He didn't know what to do, but she knew in her heart that he didn't want to bring any harm to her or his father.

For the first time in this encounter, she noticed how much more slender he looked. His cheeks had hollowed and his eyes carried a haunted look. She had seen the long knives that he had carried into the room, and she had known that he had slide a knife into his hand – she had recognized the movement, even if her captor hadn't.

Kelnozz chuckled lightly at the reaction that he had garnered from the ranger. "I never intend for you to have her back, Ranger Do'Urden." His knuckles lightly and a gasp escaped from Catti-brie's throat as his hold on the knife tightened. His eyes darkened in anger suddenly and he growled low in his throat. "And I am quickly becoming tired of all of this." An angry smile plastered across his face. "Let's finish this, shall we?" A cry of pain escaped his captive as he brought the knife down sharply, intending to finish all of this once and for all.

Drizzt's eyes widened and he reached out, dropping his stiletto in surprise as looked on helpless. Anger suddenly replaced the fear and surprise, and his lavender eyes flashed, pale and dilated once more.

Something hot and fierce wound its way through his awareness, seeping into every living joint, muscle, bone, and crevice in his body. It felt as if a heat had seared through him, but he welcomed it, embraced it. Everything he saw was seen through a film of a pale violet, causing the room to become a thick haze around him. Any emotion, any feeling that had been fought and felt over the last months seared through him – anger, sadness, helplessness, regret, betrayal – all of poured into him, causing him to cry out.

_Someone like you   
__Someone like me   
__Maybe its change   
__That sets you free   
__Free . . ._

Zaknafein watched as those unique eyes began to glow an eerie violet along with the unicorn pendant hidden inside his shirt and tunic pulled loose from the confining fabrics. His head was thrown back, the leather thong holding his braid of hair coming loose, allowing the thick white strands to whip around his body as a creepy, mysterious wind filled the room. A cry was torn from his throat, and a bright purple light flowed through his veins, shining through his skin as he seemed to become something inhuman. A glowing silver mark shone in the middle of his forehead, forming the sign of a rearing unicorn.

His amber eyes were round in amazement as he watched the transformation occur in mere seconds that seemed much longer.

Kelnozz screamed in pain and reared back – dropping the knife and clutching his hands to his chest as he yells continued to fill the room along with the wind that had come. After being released, Catti-brie had fallen to the ground and had turned to watch what was happening through wide, frightened eyes.

Brilliant violet flames similar to those of the faerie fire limned around him, burning the flesh and muscles. Fires also lined around Drizzt's outstretched hands, but they were harmless. His eyes had turned towards the screaming mercenary, calm and emotionless. He watched as the fires burned his hands to the bone. After accomplishing that, he spoke, looking coldly down at the mercenary that lay curled on the ground, whimpering in pain.

"What has been done to you is the least of what you deserve." His voice was deep and echoing, filling the room. "You have committed crimes against people that can no longer go unpunished."

Chains of writhing thorns wound their way around the stubs that were his wrists, binding tightly and raising him from the ground. The drow was thrown against the wall with a resounding crack that made it known that something had been broken inside of him. The vines remained tight around his arms, digging into flesh and bone.

_And I thought that I found myself today   
__And I thought that I had control   
__All the change in my life just fell away   
__For a moment I didn't need you_

Drizzt continued to move closer, the winds whipping around him as he stepped around Catti-brie to get closer to his apparent victim. She watched with wide, horrified eyes as he stretched out and arms towards where Kelnozz was laying in a boneless heap against the wall, staring with wide, helpless crimson eyes. With a flick of that slender, deceptive wrist, the drow was thrown against the wall and remained their, apparently held there with nothing but the horned vines.

"Today you shall be punished." His odd echoing voice was darkened with anger as he stopped a few feet away from him. "Today all of your victims shall be revenged. TODAY YOU SHALL DIE!!"

The mercenary screamed as those burning violet flames encompassed his body and burned into him mercilessly. His screams echoed through the otherwise silent room until he had been reduced to naught but ashes.

Drizzt's eyes closed and everything that had appeared around him or inside of him vanished as he fell to his knees. His breaths came hard and difficult and he seemed exhausted from the ordeal. Zaknafein and Catti-brie watched, neither saying a word. What had happened confused and frightened both of them, especially since neither had experienced anything like that before.

When Drizzt again looked up, the colour back to its normal pale lavender and his pupils no longer dilated, he looked automatically around the room to find Catti-brie. Without a word, he crawled, not walked, towards her. She watched him through haunted and frightened blue eyes and tears ran down her hollowed cheeks. Shaking his head, he removed his out tunic, wrapping around her naked body before wrapping his arms tightly around her and clutching her to his chest, burying his face in her hair and whispered prayers of thanks to Mielikke.

She cried against him as she shivered, not looking over at the burn marks on the wall.

_And I thought that I found myself today   
__And I thought that I had control   
__All the change in my life just fell away   
__For a moment I didn't need you_

**A/N   
** Thank you everyone that has read and reviewed this story thus far!! And a special thanks to SilverWolf7, my 100th reviewer! (dances happily around her computer, complete with happy plot bunnies and ignoring the odd looks of the nocturnal neighbours) I haven't had this many reviews before and it makes me really happy! This is the reason why I have written at night after my parents were asleep, just so I could put up this special chapter – for all of you!! (beams) And please, review!  I wanna know what you think of what has just happened!!!


	22. Explanations

**Chapter Twenty-Two – Revenge**

Drizzt whispered soft words into her ear, soothing her as best as he could as he held her tight. He never wanted to let her go, not if it meant that this would happen again. The tunic that he had wrapped tightly around her small frame barely covered her. She was shaking and trembling so badly from exhaustion and relief that he was reluctant to move her, though he knew that they needed to leave now or never, from what Zaknafein's fingers were flashing from the doorway. The drow had retrieved the knives and stiletto that his son had dropped. He would question the boy later, but now they needed to leave.

He pulled back enough to look into her face, gently wiping the tears from her eyes. "Cat, we have to leave before the others find us. We don't have the resources to fight another group of them."

Catti-brie nodded slowly, and tried to stand with his assistance. He kept one arm around her waist and the other moved her arm to rest across his shoulders. Her knees buckled underneath her and she cried out softly. Drizzt looked at her through worried eyes. She leaned heavily against him, tears pouring from her eyes, frustrated that she was weak.

"It's alright, Cat." He voice was soft and comforting. "I'm going to get you out of here."

He carefully moved one arm behind her knees, the other behind her shoulders. She started violently when he lifted her bridal style into his arms, but settled against him, her head on his shoulder and her arms wrapped shakily around his neck.

Drizzt moved easily across the room, following his father. She was amazed that he could carry he like this – he just didn't look to have the muscle needed to be able to do that. Zaknafein walked down the hallway, stepping over the bodies of the slaughtered guard without even looking at them twice – not even seeming to think them out of place.

Catti-brie's eyes widened and she hid her face from the carnage against her husband's shoulder. Dead drow, eyes wide in death and pain, littered the hallway, an hour old at most. The blood had yet to congeal and the still warm liquid made wet dripping sounds from some of the corpses with splatters that sent shivers down her spine.

They moved silently down the hallway, back towards the way the Drizzt had gotten into the underground cells. He wished to fetch back his dark grey cloak, as he was uncomfortable wearing the _piwifwi_ that he had nicked off the guard he had slaughtered. He had also thought to use it to keep Catti-brie warm, though he knew that her shivering was from more than cold.

After retrieving the item, they made their way through the dungeon and out of the exit. She kept her face pressed against the warm curve of his shoulder, fighting back the memories of the chamber. She lifted her eyes when Drizzt stopped on the outside, sighing and whispering gently.

"Udos yorn inbal ulu vier nindolen har'olen. (We will have to seal these tunnels.)" He was speaking to someone, and by the language he was using, it was likely his father, but a different voice responded.

"Uss'tan yorn xun ji xuil ussta glenn. Serenity'sfeithin whol dos a l'k'lar.(I will do so with my soldiers. Serenity's waiting for you at the campsite.)" Catti-brie looked up from her husband's shoulder to see Gabriel standing their, speaking with both Zaknafein and Drizzt. The Luchiélt High Lord added, in the common tongue, noticing the she was listening. "Serenity will help clean her wounds and be there for comfort, if she needs it."

She felt Drizzt nod, and they started moving through the trees. He said naught a word as they continued through the darkness. She kept her head resting against his shoulder, exhausted and weary.

Fire light soon became apparent through the trees and Drizzt made his way towards them. He could still feel her shaking in his arms, and he knew that she was shivering from memories of unfamiliar, unwanted flesh on hers. A shudder slid through his slender body at the memories of what had happened to him flitted through his mind.

Serenity looked up from where she sat, facing the fire as they entered into the clearing. Her son slept peacefully against her back in a sling, his tiny fists curled in her pale hair. Her face was serious as she noticed the woman wrapped in a tunic and cloak in his arms. She had already laid out a blanket for her to lie upon, next to larger, earthenware bowl filled with warm water and a clean white clothe. Fresh bandages and a small wooden bow filled with packages of dried herbs and little bottles of liquid herbs had also been set out. Serenity smiled slightly as Catti-brie looked over at her from where she was in her husband's arms, curled against his chest.

"She doesn't look as badly injured as I thought that she would be." Her voice was soft as she watched Drizzt kneel and lay her down carefully on the blanket. "And I think that we can be grateful for that. It'll take less time to heal physical wounds." Serenity watched quietly as the ranger leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on the brow of his beloved.

"I'll be back soon to check on her. I'll be helping to seal the tunnels with your husband and the soldiers."

He walked quietly between the trees, not looking back. Catti-brie watched him, swallowing thickly as she watched his retreating back. She had been able to read the pain in his eyes as he had left her there. It was as if it pained him to leave her behind, as if he was afraid that something would happen to her again. She knew that he was worried about her, and had probably been through a lot in the last month.

"Here, I have some clothes that you have left in Silverymoon before." She turned to the Luchiélt woman who was offering her a pile of neatly folded clothing. "And Lady Alustriel thought that you would be comfortable in these. After you have finished dressing, I will help you with your wounds."

Catti-brie nodded, and allowed Serenity to help her to sit up. Tears fell down her already wet cheeks as she found that she couldn't dress herself and needed the Luchiélt woman to help her. She bit back sobs. She didn't want to be this weak, and she wanted to get away from here, away from the memories. Every movement sent shocks of pain through her awareness. Adrenalin had kept the worst of the pain away, but since things had settled down, the adrenalin had left her system, leaving her in a world of pain. Serenity held her close, comforting her with soft, foreign words as she broke into sobs. She hated being so weak and pitiful!!

When her sobs slowed and became mere hiccups, Serenity looked down into her friends blue eyes with sympathy and understanding glinting from within her own green orbs. Her voice was soft. "If you're feeling a little better, at least emotionally, I'll help you with your wounds. I'm as well trained as Gabriel is, so there should be nothing to worry about."

Catti-brie nodded and laid stomach-down on the blanket as Serenity helped her to remove her tunic, exposing the unsealing lashes on her tender back and sides. She laid her head on her arms, closing her eyes. The Luchiélt woman took one the clean clothe that rested next to the bowl of warm water. Ringing it out, she ran it gently along the length of the young woman's back, eliciting a small cry of pain. She winced, not enjoying the sound in the least. She apologized softly as she continued to clean out the wounds, wincing every time she heard a cry of pain from the young woman. When she finished, she carefully helped Catti-brie to sit up, wrapping the bandages gently, yet tightly around her torso. The young woman was trembling so badly that it was difficult to even come close to the notion of dressing on her own. When that was finished with that, she replaced her tunic.

"There is one more thing that I need to ask of you, Catti-brie." Serenity's voice was soft and hesitant. Her eyes looked at her hands, folded neatly in her lap. The young woman could tell that it was difficult of her to ask this. "Did he use any of his, well, toys, on you?"

There was pain in the green depths of her eyes as she watched her reaction. Catti-brie swallowed thickly, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Yes." Her voice was almost inaudible, and choked with emotional pain. "Is it supposed to hurt this much?"

Serenity shook her head, pulling another vile from the tiny box. "It does hurt, and it does damage if we don't do anything about it." Catti-brie looked at her curiously, the tears still falling down her pale, thin hollow cheeks.

"What kind of damage?" Her voice hesitated over the question. "What kind of damage can happen?"

Serenity looked into those jaded blue eyes, sighing. "Without treatment, you can get an infection. If we, as a result, don't do anything about the infection, you may never be able to have children of your own."

Catti-brie was quiet for a few long moments, her eyes on the ground. "How do you know this?"

The Luchiélt woman paused for a few moments, quiet. "You remember me telling you that it took Gabriel and I nearly two decades before we were able to create a child together, right?" Catti-brie nodded. "Well, the men who took me, all those long years ago, they used the same tools that Kelnozz did. I was hurt, badly by them, and, at the time, neither Gabriel nor I realised that we would need to treat the wounds from those" – she shuddered violently– "toys. Because we didn't realise this, the infection caused that terminable damage, and the fact that Adrian was conceived, that he was even born, was a miracle all on its own." She looked up at the young woman with her startling green eyes. "I do not wish for that to happen to you, Cat."

After long moments of thinking, she turned to the Luchiélt healer and spoke softly. "Can we do this quickly, before the men come back?" Her voice shook as she wrapped her arms around her knees. "I-" she hesitated, "I don't want Drizzt to find out about this."

Serenity nodded slightly and dug through the box of healing herbs. After a few moments, she pulled a poultice from the box and handed it to the woman. Catti-brie took it almost reluctantly, looking at the Luchiélt woman, eyes asking for help.

* * *

Half an hour later, the soldiers filed quietly into the clearing, noting that the two women were curled, sleeping, near the fire, and began setting their bedrolls out around camp, though a few, including Zaknafein, left, on patrol of the area. Drizzt's lavender eyes swept over the restless, sleeping form of his wife. Sighing softly, he rolled out his own bedroll behind hers, though staying a cautious distance away. Closing his eyes, preparing for sleep, he reached out and carefully placed one hand on her shoulder, rubbing her arm lightly as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

_He opened his eyes, thinking to see the morning sun, and the Luchiélt preparing to make camp and start heading towards Silverymoon. Instead, the drow ranger looked around the clearing, kneeling besides the river that rested in Mielikke's Glade. The goddess herself, tall and slender, stood just on the other side of the clearing, carefully grooming the silken white mane of the unicorn that stood faithfully at her side as a constant companion._

"_Good evening, Ranger Do'Urden." Her voice was soft as she turned to smile at the ranger that had entered her glade only moments ago. "Am I correct in guessing that you may have questions about what happened earlier this evening?"_

_His brow furrowed, his white eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "I do not know what you are talking about Lady Forest."_

_She turned, her green, green eyes boring into his own intense lavender orbs. Drizzt turned away first. "The violet fire, the marks, the horned vines," her voice was soft. "How can you not have any questions, Ranger Do'Urden?"_

_He paused, studying the fine lines on his hands, and not meeting her eyes. His soft voice held the leftover traces of anger. "What happened to me, Lady Forest? I became a monster. I remember the fear in Catti-brie's eyes when she saw what I had become."_

_The goddess Mielikke knelt before her faithful follower, her fingers deftly lifting his chin so that she looked into his pale eyes. Her eyes held a fire all their own and her voice was stern. "What happened back in those tunnels was something that did not transform you to a monster. What happened then was that your powers awoke, and at the time, only your anger and your emotions could control them."_

_He looked startled for a moment, wondering what the goddess might have meant by that. "What do you mean my powers?" He asked, hesitantly._

_Mielikke sighed. "I have been watching over you from the moment you were conceived, Ranger Do'Urden. I knew then, that you would become one of my many followers, and one of my most faithful. When you were born, the gods, myself included, bestowed upon you, gifts, or powers, that would aid you in your role in the world, and in the making of the future."_

_Drizzt's curiosity peaked as he listened to her speaking. "What kinds of 'powers,' or, 'gifts,' have you given me? Surely what happened in those caves cannot be all that I can do!"_

_The goddess smiled slightly. "You were given many gifts, though a curse was laid upon you as well. From many of the god, you were given the gift of quick-learning, agility, strength, endurance. From myself, the ability to know what an animal is thinking, your ability to read your surroundings, and your honed instincts. I too, gave you the ability to turn harmless faerie fire into something deadly, and o be able to use the nature around you. If you try hard enough you could also create a snow, wind, thunder, or rain storm. Lolth laid the curse of the hunter upon you."_

_He looked at her in surprise. "What kind of a curse is this that you talking about?"_

_Mielikke looked at him, with a glint of something unfamiliar in her emerald eyes. "The Hunter." Drizzt looked away, knowing what she was speaking of. "She placed this curse around saying that if you are away from those you love for a long period of time, a dark, drow-like instinct will take you over, and cause you to fight and kill any around you. It is also what causes you to be so fiercely protective of your friends and loved ones, especially dear Catti-brie, though most of the time, you seem to deny that urge to protect them completely."_

"_Is that why I nearly killed Gabriel, High Lord of the Luchiélt people?" he asked quietly, pulling his legs to his chest and wrapping his arms around them, resting his chin on his knees. "Is that why I started to become so dependant on my fighting skills? Why I was so desperate to get Catti-brie from the clutches of my enemies?"_

_She nodded. "Of course." Sighing, she stood, "now, all we need to do is figure out a way to help you control your new-found abilities . . ."_

* * *

**A/N  
**Well, I hope this chapter clears things up a bit about what happened in the last chapter! (had a helluva time writing it too)T-T I must, however, thank everyone for their reviews! And I know that it's been a long time and I'm sorry, but I could update so sooner! With hockey and the manga my friend and I are working on, and ungodly amounts of homework, and hockey practices/games every day (except sunday) it's a miracle that I've have time to shower everynight. Well, at least Winter Break starts friday afternoon, so I'll have a lot more freetime. Two Weeks off of school !! WOOHOO!! and the plot bunnies will stop running rampages all around me! T-T Anyway, gotta be going now, as i have to go to bed. Byebye! and please review! flames aren't welcome, but helpful hints are! Danke schon!  
_--RangerDo'Urden_


	23. Apologies

**a/n Song is 'May It Be' by Enya**

**Chapter Twenty-Three – Revenge**

Catti-brie hugged her knees to her chest, looking over the waters of the hot springs, her thoughts kept quietly to herself. Her long hair, wet and shimmering from the bath that she had taken no more than an hour ago, hung loose down her back, drying in thick waves that fell past her waist. The lashes on her back and the bruises covering her body were healing slowly, as were the few broken ribs. Serenity had told her the night before that, on the inside, her body was healing nicely, and she would only need to apply the ointment a few days more.

They had been staying in this area for the last week, allowing for her to recover for a while before leaving for Silverymoon. The week had been, well, somewhat difficult, especially with the memories whirling through her head. She spent most of her time speaking with Serenity about how everyone had been doing that summer, wondering how Delly and Wulfgar's two children were coming along. She had been surprised when she had found out that they were expecting another one, but nonetheless happy for them.

Catti-brie had watched with a small smile as Gabriel had spent time playing and interacting with an incredibly alert and active Adrian as the week wore on. He would hold the small child's hands above his head as he was walked slowly across the clearing where the group held their camp. The little boy would squeal and giggle happily whenever his father would throw him up into the air, his bright green eyes filled with happiness, tiny bare feet kicking in the air, arms spread wide while the wind blew his already messy white hair askew. Serenity would scold them gently, telling her husband not to get him too excited before his wings had grown in.

Gabriel said that it would do nothing wrong – only make him learn how to fly around before the other children his age, and make him think less of the pain when his wings actually began to grow in. She had tried to scold them further, telling him that it wasn't a good idea and that she was worried for her baby, but their near-identical puppy dog eyes had stopped her in her tracks and caused her to smile.

"Fine, as long as no harm is caused to him."

Catti-brie had remembered sadly, the fate of the child that she had tried to have with her husband weeks before. In her heart, she had wanted to have that baby so terribly; it was like a deep ache that wouldn't go away. She couldn't help but think about what would have happened if the beating she had received hadn't been meant to kill it – what would've happened if the baby had survived. She knew that if nothing had happened to it that, in but a few months from this moment, she and Drizzt would likely be eagerly awaiting the birth of their first child.

And maybe, she thought, hugging her knees tighter to her chest, just maybe, he wouldn't be avoiding her and staying on his constant patrols out in the woods. Maybe he blamed himself and couldn't stand to see the harsh pain that continually lingered in her eyes when she came back from her nightly outings into the woods with Serenity, to apply ointment for wounds she was afraid of him finding out about.

During the days, Drizzt was always away from camp, leaving early in the mornings and coming back late into the night. She knew, at the least, however, that he would bath before coming back to camp, as if he was always working up a heavy layer of sweat, or, something along those lines. That was why she had come here tonight, besides bathing herself. She wanted to talk to him – wanted to hear his reasons as to why he was always distancing himself from her and others, even his father.

She remember oh so vividly the look in his eyes as he had burned Kelnozz alive, listening to his shrieks and screams of pain. She remembered looking at the bare white bones of the mercenary's hands as he had watched them burning away. He had seemed so distant, so cold in that moment that even Zaknafein's eyes had been filled with horror.

Just thinking about the tone of his voice as he had spoken during those few moments sent violent shivers down her spine. It frightened her still to think that he had ever been capable of doing such a thing, especially if it seemed to go so out of control when his carefully hidden emotions went haywire behind his stoic, expressionless face.

Tears filled her blue, blue eyes as she watched the woods surrounding the tranquil hot springs, her thoughts in a whirl. She would never have thought that something so sinister and cruel would be lingering behind someone so kind and unselfish. And the main worry flitting through her head had been, why had he been so distant towards her? Was she dirty, or something, just because she had been raped and tortured by that mercenary and his enemy? Was it because she had lost the baby? What was it?

But, the night that he had rescued her, she had awoken late at night with his hands lingering upon her shoulders as he slept an uneasy sleep, eyes moving behind closed lids and muttering softly in his sleep.

As Catti-brie sat, thinking quietly to herself, a rustling sound came from the trees on the other side of the clearing, causing her to jump slightly at the interruption. She watched without a sound as Drizzt jumped lightly from the trees, landing in a crouch without a sound. He brushed chin-length locks of hair behind his pointed ears, mithril rings glittering in the moonlight along their pointed edges. The young woman's brow furrowed as she watched him walking towards the springs, not noticing her through the steam.

The belt with his scimitars, belt pouches, and long knives was thrown over his shoulder, the decorations covering the sheaths sparkling in the faint light. She watched as he set them down next to the water on a large boulder. Sighing, he pulled his shirt and tunic over his head, throwing it in the general direction of the rock as he sat down and untied the laces of his boots, placing them near the water's edge. He removed the leather thong that held his hair in the long braid that ran down his naked back, the end curling just below the smooth curve of his buttocks (hormone attack people, sorry >.> ).

As he shook out his thick locks of white hair, she noticed the thin sheen of sweat the covered his torso, causing the thick strands and locks to plaster themselves against his ebon skin. The marking that she had seen for the first time in the early spring were still visible and, if possible, had lightened, causing them to stand out more starkly to her eyes, as they followed the ones on his torso to where they disappeared into his leggings.

She noticed to, the sheaths on his lower arms that contained the stilettos that Serenity had told her about. She watched as he removed on of them from its sheath, after having carefully removed the actual sheaths from his arms. He placed it blade down in the grass besides the water, before sticking his feet over the water and removing his leggings. She watched with a faint blush on her cheeks, but did not look away. She knew from a bit more than just experienced that one of the things he was so private and normally embarrassed about was larger than one would expect for someone of his height and build.

Her gaze followed down his legs and she gasped softly in surprise as she noticed dozens and dozens of cuts that covered the insides of his calves and thighs. Most of them were scarred over, and others from his captivity with the drow, but the others were new. As she looked she noticed others along his arms and wrists, and she knew that most, if not all, of the smaller ones could only have happened to him after his captivity.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she watched him slide into the water, wincing, eyes closed, as the fresh cuts on his legs and arms were fully submerged into the hot liquid. After opening his eyes, he looked across the waters to found himself staring into her teary blue eyes. His own lavender orbs widened in surprised and he backed up a step, bumping into the stone edge of the molten hot pools.

"Cat…" he hesitated over the words, closing his eyes and sighing. "I thought that you were back in the campsite."

She gave a slight smile, looking down at her toes. "Nay, I'm here." She looked up and met his eyes. "I wanted to talk to you, and you're always out in the woods, so I came here, thinking that perhaps you bathed at night, and that I would get the chance to speak with you."

Drizzt nodded, smiling slightly. "You think that I'm avoiding you, don't you? That I wish not to speak with you?"

Catti-brie's eyes widened slightly as she looked into his guilt-filled orbs. "How? When did you figure this out?"

His smiled widened slightly as he dipped his head under the water for an instant, soaping his hands with the liquid provided by Alustriel and running through his wet hair. "Only just now, Cat, only just now."

A faint blush crept up her neck and into her pale cheeks. Of course, he had probably been guessing, to get a reaction out of her, which happened to be a habit of his when they were in private. After rinsing the suds from his hair, he looked over to see her studying her toes with look of concentration, as if she was avoiding looking at him for some reason or another.

In truth, he had been running into the forest early in the morning and late into the night in part to avoid her. He couldn't stand seeing the pain and distance in her eyes and expression whenever he looked at her. Sometimes, though, he would come back through the trees to watch over her and wonder if her mind had gotten off the subject of what had happened to her in those dungeons. He knew though from experience that it took quite a lot to take any of those subjects of ones mind – to wipe the memories away.

He had also been gone to learn how to control the newly awakened prowess that had manifested itself within his body. He would meander into a clearing that was hidden deep within the woods, where there would be a unicorn waiting patiently. A female unicorn, he knew, because of the lack of beard on the smooth white chin. It had surprised him the first time when that same unicorn had looked at him with intelligent green eyes and what seemed to be a smile upon its lips. He had watched in amazement as the unicorn had transformed itself into the Goddess Mielikke.

During the day, she would help him, reaching into his mind and drawing the flames and vines to his hands, helping him to control them properly. She would also show him how to use his abilities to block magical attacks or assaults by other chosen of the gods or goddesses. He spent hours ducking, dodging, and drawing up shields to protect himself from her attacks, in order to learn how to use these many different powers.

"It doesn't really surprise me that you have come to this conclusion, Cat." His voice hesitated over the words as he spoke quietly, moving through the water to stand near her, looking into her sad blue eyes. He sighed, bowing his head in what seemed to be defeat. "You can say that it was only a small part of the reason as to why I was gone."

Shakily, she reached out to touch the side of his face, causing him to look up at the feather light touch on his wet skin. Her voice held the faint edge of tears as she spoke. "Why are you leaving all the time? Why did you try and avoid me? I needed you there."

His eyes widened slightly. Without saying another word, he hung his head, a guilty light shining through his lavender eyes. She watched as he turned and set his back against the edge of the water pools. He ran his hands over his face, his voice muffled as he spoke, remorse lacing thickly through his soft voice. "Oh, goddess, if I had had any idea, I…I would've been there…I…I'm so sorry Cat…"

Tears pouring down her cheeks, she reached out and touched his shoulder, looking into his eyes. Without a word, he pulled himself out of the water, carefully wrapping a spare bit of clothe around his lower extremities. Sitting besides the hunched, lonely form of his wife and lover, he wrapped his arms around her, gently pushing her head to rest on his shoulder. Soundlessly and slowly, she began sobbing, clinging to him, and taking comfort in his warm embrace. She felt him bury his face in the hair near her neck, and it wasn't until she felt him shaking as well that she noticed that he too was crying silently against her.

They stayed like that for a while, clinging to each other and crying, loosing their emotions as they clung to the comfort that the other offered. After what seemed like hours, they both calmed, but remained in the warm circle of the others' arms, neither wishing to be released from the warm comfort that the other offered, even in their minds' turmoil.

"I'm sorry that you felt like I was abandoning you all this time, Cat." He whispered softly, laying his cheek on top of her head and stroking her back gently. "I never meant to do something like that to you, never." He sighed, lightly kissing the top of her head. "I… I needed some time to myself, to think over what happened, and…" he pulled away slightly so that his hand was clearly visible in front of her azure eyes. "…and I needed to learn how to control this."

Violet flames ignited around his hand, flickering soft light around the clearing. Catti-brie's eyes widened as he did so and she turned away slightly, unconscious of her reaction. After a few moments, she turned to look at the pale flames dancing and licking around his ebon skinned hand. She looked into his face to see pain reflected in his lavender eyes – pain and sorrow. It was as if it pained him to even have these newfound abilities and gifts. Taking a deep breath, she reached out and laid her hand carefully in his arm, a cautious distance away from the moving flames. Seeing her hand, Drizzt looked down into her eyes, his own curious as to what she was doing.

"It's alright," she whispered, moving her hand towards his, her fingers touching the warm inferno around his fingers. By looking in his eyes she watched as he turned the harming tongues into harmless licks. Her fingers wrapped gently around his and she looked towards where their fingers entwined. Tears ran down her cheeks in a steady stream. "I forgive you, just please, don't leave me alone like that again. I needed you there, with me."

He nodded, closing his eyes. The flames around his hand died out and he wrapped his arm tightly around her slender body, holding her close. "I will, and if I have to go to the goddess to learn more about these abilities, I will take you with me."

Resting her head in the warm crook of his neck, she nodded, feeling safe for the first time in a long time. She closed her eyes as he rested his chin atop her head, taking a deep breath that she could feel being pulled into his slender chest. She remained quiet as his soft voice - a soothing soprano - rang gently through the clearing, singing a song that she had never before heard.

"_May it be  
__An evening star  
__Shines down  
__Upon you_

"_May it be  
__When darkness falls  
__Your heart  
__Will be true_

"_You walk a long road  
__Oh how far you are from home_

"_Mornië utúlië  
__Believe and you  
__Will find your way_

"_Mornië utúlië  
__A promise lives  
__Within you now."_

Catti-brie moved her head slightly too look up into his face, to see the emotions in his eyes as he sang the beautiful, yet sad words in his wonderfully melodic voice. Tears poured from closed eyes, making the delicate white lashes shine withsparkling wetnessas he continued the soft ballad. The tone was sweet and soothing, lulling her towards sleep.

"_May it be  
__The shadows call  
__Will fly away_

"_May it be  
__A journey on  
__To light the day_

"_When night is all gone  
__You may rise  
__To find the sun_

"_Mornië utúlië  
__Believe and you  
__Will find your way_

"_Mornië alantië  
__A promise lives  
__Within you now_

"_A promise lives  
__Within you now . . ."_

He opened his eyes slowly, looking down at the sleeping figure in his arms. Her expression was one of peace – one he hadn't seen in her sleep since before she was kidnapped. He smiled slightly as he bent forward at the neck, his soft breath a warm cloud against the side of her face as he whispered in her ear for only her to hear.

"I love you, Lady Love, and I will always protect you."

He lightly kissed her temple before gently stretching her out on the ground, moving her so that she was comfortable. He quickly replaced his clothing, keeping his eyes on her peacefully sleeping form the whole time he dressed. Buckling his belt around his waist he walked towards her and gently lifted her in his arms, careful not to disturb her slumber. He carried her easily the rest of the way to the camp, making hardly a sound as he made his way through the trees.

Gabriel watched as the figure made its way to the laid-out bedroll besides the fire, laying the sleeping Catti-brie gently upon it. When he tried to move away, her fingers digging tightly into the clothe of his shirt, a strangled sound forming in her throat. Her voice was soft, distressed, as she spoke in her sleep, calling out.

"No… don't… my… baby…" Tears poured down her face, even in slumber. Gabriel met the ranger's eyes from over the fire, answering the question within those depths as Drizzt lay down besides his wife, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

"Her dreams have been filled with visions of what happened to her. You can imagine what it is like." His eyes were carefully guarded, emotionless. He reached out a hand and gently stroked the side of Serenity's sleeping face. "There are nights were she will even call out for you, but you never seem to know that, as you always seem to be asleep before your head hits the ground."

Drizzt took a deep breath, burying his face in her hair and taking another. "Aye, I haven't been there, but from this point forward, I won't leave her, even if it kills me."

**A/N**  
Well, here you go. sorry it took so long to get out. the keys on the keyboard are sticky and hard to press, since the idiot i call my brother spilled koolaid on the laptop. grr. i hate him. any way, hockey season should be over in a month, but after that my friend and i will be working on our manga, and then softball. my life's a mess, but i'm still working really hard. anyway, please review, i'll get the next chapter up as soon as i can. and i thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter! they were all appreciated!  
**--RangerDo'Urden**


	24. SOmething tp Think About

**Chapter Twenty-Four – Revenge**

Drizzt looked out over the balcony, a small smile on his face as he continued to look out over the city. It had been weeks since they had gotten back, and he smiled at the sleeping form of his wife on the bed. Her wounds were healing swiftly enough, and were merely healing scars. Catti-brie still had nightmares, but they were not nearly horrible as they had been, and she said that they disappeared when she slept curled against him at night.

There were nights also when she woke up crying, speaking softly, talking about the baby that they would've had during the winter if fate hadn't intervened. He held her close during those cold nights, whispering soothing nonsense to calm her back to sleep.

They had simultaneously decided to stay in Silverymoon over the long winter, neither of them up to the long road home, or having to explain why they had returned to Icewind Dale so late in the year. Drizzt had penned them a letter telling that they would come home in the spring, sending it using one of Gabriel's trained eagles. He gave no reason for their long absence other than saying that they both wished to stay during the winter and enjoy (what was to them) a warmer, shorter season.

His mind wandered over the events of the last weeks. Catti-brie had remained close to him ever since that night in the springs, and he wasn't exactly protesting. She watched as he and Zak sparred in the gardens, laughing and joking in their fluid, familiar tongue. Catti-brie got the hint of what they were saying by their movement and expressions. He had been trying over the past weeks to teach the newly-reincarnated Weapons Master to speak the common language. He was actually picking up on it quite nicely.

He smiled slightly as he remembered watching him and Alustriel, walking through the garden the night before as she spoke with him in a halting combination of drow and common. He hadn't remembered exactly what they had talked about, only that both of them had been able understand each other on some level.

It was still warmed his heart to see his father making friends on the surface as quickly as he was. He had even gained the favours of the captain of Silverymoon's army. Captain Irdago was a half elf that had been serving the city for a long number of years. He was a soft spoken man that never ordered his troops to do something he wouldn't do in their place and would go to a family personally to tell them of the loss of a family member and give them his sympathies. His wife often went with him on such excursions, or would stay with their daughter, who was expecting her first child sometime in midwinter.

The ranger started as someone placed a warm silk dressing gown around his bare shoulders before a familiar set of arms encircled his waist. He smiled and placed his hands lightly over hers before turning around and pulling her close to him. Catti-brie smiled slightly back at him before resting her head on his chest.

She had been by his side for most, if not all of the past weeks. The Goddess of the Forest had also allowed her to watch as she trained him to be able to use and control the gifts that had awakened the night that he had brought her from the hell that she had been imprisoned in.

The dwarf-raised woman had watched in awe at the precision in which he executed the move that the goddess had shown him. He through up flawless barriers at a mere moments notice, throwing back furious licks of flame, thick, writhing vines, or blasts of magical energy back towards whatever opponent that his trained had been able to find or conjure. His movements were fluid and flawless, though his sharp, pale eyes never left his opponents, and not once did they ever show a hint of fear, or, anything else besides concentration.

"I noticed you standing here all alone, and your bare shoulders were making me cold just looking at you." She looked up at him with a small smile on her face. "I thought that the robe Alustriel had made to match those sleeping pants would keep you from getting chills."

"Thank you, Lady Love," he touched his forehead to hers. "But, aren't you cold as well?"

His smile widened as he lightly kissed her forehead, his hands moving up and down her back. She smiled at the warm sensations that flowed from his fingers into her body, warming her shivering frame. Chuckling softly, she leaned up and kissed him lightly.

"Where did you learn how to do this little trick?" She pulled the black silk dressing gown more securely over his shoulders. "It feels really nice."

Drizzt leaned down to whisper in her ear. "A lot of practice, that's all." He pulled her closer when he felt her shivering. "And it seems like it's a good thing too, your skin is cold to the touch."

When she didn't answer him, he looked down at her, concern filling his pale eyes. "Lady Love, is something wrong?" She stiffened in his arms, burying her face in his shoulder. A look of comprehension moved across his face as her silent response. He sighed quietly as he led her into their room. "Did you have another nightmare tonight?"

Catti-brie responded quietly, not meeting his eyes. "You could say that." A look of exhaustion crossed her face as she sat down upon the down mattress, her husband kneeling on the bed in front of her. "But it was more like a vision of the future than anything else."

His smooth brow furrowed in thought. "What do you mean, 'like a vision'?" She looked down at her hands, folded in her lap, at his soft inquiry. "Is there something that you aren't telling me Lady Love?"

"Whenever I was knocked unconscious by those guards, I would start seeing these scenes, but they were far more vivid than any dream I've ever had." Her voice was soft as she spoke, and she didn't seem willing enough to meet his intense eyes. "But they weren't exactly ordinary. They seemed to be flashes of our future – of our family, children." She smiled slightly in remembrance as he tilted her chin up to meet his gaze. "There were three boys, two of them twins, and a little girl."

Drizzt smiled slightly as he sat down besides her. "Really now, tell me about them. It sounds interesting."

"They all had dark skin like their father. The eldest was a boy. Zak, I think. His eyes were blue, his hair white and red, and he was as tall as your father, as slender as you, and followed his father down the ranger's path. Then we had twins, boys. Sylfan and Nalfein were their names, four years younger than Zak. The owned separate ships and were known for ridding the coasts of pirates." She smiled as they talked about their future children. "They were more thickly built than their elder brother, and only used a single sword, with a dagger. Their eyes were a cross between blue and violet; their skin lighter than Zak's, their hair was a roan colour.

"The youngest was a girl, her name was Aimee, and she was much smaller then the rest. Her eyes were like yours," she smiled as she ran a delicate finger over her husband's cheek, "brilliant lavender. Her skin only a few shades lighter. Her hair was as white as the snow, marred only by a single streak of red, one that falls in her face. She was a feisty one too. She could outfight you and your father at the same time. Aimee was the captain of Silverymoon's army, after whomever what the captain before her."

Catti-brie's voice quieted after a few moments and she again looked down at her hands. Drizzt noticed her silence and wrapped his arm in a comforting gesture around her shoulders. Reading slightly into her downcast eyes and expression, he quickly surmised what it was that she was hesitant about.

"Your dream was about her, wasn't it?" He asked quietly, tilting her chin slightly upwards so that she met his eyes directly. "You were dreaming about something that would happen in our daughter's distant future?"

Catti-brie nodded slowly, taking a deep breath. "Yes, it was about Aimee. I don't think that I've ever seen anyone so utterly heartbroken."

His brow wrinkled in confusion. "Is it difficult for you to speak of it?"

She looked away as he slid to kneel on the floor, coming in front of her. He took a deep breath and reached up so that his fingers rested lightly on each of her temples. Catti-brie watched him curiously through her blue eyes, wondering what he was doing. She was watched a few of his 'training' sessions with the goddess, but she had never seen him do anything like this.

"Drizzt," she whispered softly, reaching out to lightly touch the side of his face. "What exactly are you doing?"

He looked up, pale eyes meeting those curious, and slightly fearful blue eyes that looked into his light coloured orbs. "Mielikke told me about a method that I can use to peruse through another person's mind." He explained it slowly and carefully, like one would a child. "The reason that you don't know about this is because she practised it with me before your started coming to those training sessions. It's difficult, but I think that I'd rather find the memory of the vision, as you called it, rather than have you speak of it, as it seems difficult for you to do so."

After a few minutes in a thoughtful silence, Catti-brie reached up and placed her hands over his, nodding in consent to what he was about to do. She watched as his lips opened slightly, eyes rolling into the back of his skull as his head moved slowly backwards, eyes slowly closing. Her blue orbs showed worry as she watched the way his body moved of its own accord, emotions and reactions moving like rippling water across his face.

_A young woman, of obvious drow descent, walked into the gardens of Silverymoon, looking around the place as if searching for someone that was spying or eavesdropping. Her pale eyes were lavender, sparkling and clear in the light of moon, filled with intelligence that spoke of a higher rank than a common soldier._

_She wore a tight, thick black leather corset that pulled tightly against her already slender upper body. Being that the corset was sleeveless and was held up only by its tightness, she wore a loose, crimson shirt with wide sleeves that buttoned at the wrist. This hid that wrist sheathes containing the stilettos that she wore there. One either side of her slender hips was both a long sword and a long knife. The worn grips of the handles suggested that she used the weapons frequently. She also wore tight pants of black leather and knee-high leather boots that hid small daggers. Her hair was bound back in a loose tail that fell well past her slender hips. Several loose wisps fell into her face, all white with the exception of a single lock of auburn that refused to be tamed._

_If one were to look closely, they would notice that her corset fit tighter than normal around her normally flat, smoothly muscled stomach. She would reach up every now and then to play with the mithril rings that ran along the pointed edges of her ears, a sign that she was nervous._

_After a few moments, a tall figure walked out of the flowers at the edges of the garden, walking towards her. She watched him with a faint smile on her face as he did the same, a relieved look passing over her familiar features. As he got closer, the concealing hood of his cloak fell from his face and a tall, blonde elf smiled at her with familiar deep blue eyes glinting from within an ethereal face that had once belonged to a young child that had been the lone survivor from an attack in his clan._

_He embraced the young drow and kissed her lightly, whispering a soft greeting in elvish. Mikhail had pulled back soon enough, the folds of his cloak being pulled back to show the sword belted neatly on his waist and the brilliant silver armour that he wore as the captain of the Knights in Silver._

"_May I ask why it is that you aren't wearing armour tonight? You usually don't take it off." His smooth brow furrowed as she bowed her head, her forehead resting lightly against his armour. "Aimee?" his voice softened as he rested his chin on the top of her head, "Is something wrong that you're not telling me?"_

_She nodded slightly against the metal breastplate that gleamed silver in the faint moonlight, seeming to blatantly avoid looking into his eyes. Mikhail reached down and gently tilted her chin upwards so that his sapphire hued orbs met ones of pale lavender._

"_Aimee…"_

_The young drow woman took a shaky breath, reaching up and wiping her hand across her eyes. Her voice was softer than he had ever heard it. "Can I show you something Mikhail?"_

_The Captain of the Knights in Silver frowned. "Of course, you can tell me anything."_

_Aimee nodded and led him over to sit on a nearby bench. He watched her with curiosity as she stood in front of him, her hands hesitant over the ties the tight corset that she wore. She untied it, letting the hardened leather to fall to the ground before pulling up the crimson shirt to reveal the smooth expanse of her black-skinned belly. Mikhail's sharp eyes glanced over the stretch of skin before reached up with one pale hand and placing it lightly on her hip, gliding up her side._

_Realization dawned across his eternally young face as his hands slid across her swollen belly, his eyes looking into her lavender ones. Tears fell silently down her cheeks as his voice spoke hesitantly._

"_Y-you can't be…" He shook his head in disbelief._

_She nodded sadly, "I am." She bowed her head, closing her eyes and turning away. "I'm sorry."_

_Mikhail took a deep breath as he stood, seeing figures coming at them from the inside of the home of Lady Alustriel. They were messengers that had been sent to see him as the Captain of the Knights in Silver. He turned back to her as she lowered the hem of her shirt, looking dejected and ashamed, tears pouring down her cheeks._

_He once again stepped closer to her, whispering in her ear so as not allow anyone else to hear his words._

"_You know as well as I, that we very well can't have a child at this time, not when Silverymoon depends on us for its safety and protection. We have to figure out someway to get out of this, by any means necessary, and you well know it. I will speak to you later Aimee. Goodnight."_

_She looked at him in disbelief as he walked away, crossing her arms over her stomach, her pale eyes distant as she sat down on the bench. She knew very well what he had implied with the phrase 'by any means necessary.' He wanted her to rid of the child growing in her belly. As a captain trained by her own grandfather for the position, she knew that her being with child only meant that she wouldn't be able to fight, and she would be unable to lead her soldiers into battle if need be. A child made her useless to her city, but she refused to kill a child innocent of its origins._

_But… what would her family say? Only her grandfather knew of the secret marriage that she and Mikhail had celebrated a little over four months ago, and she knew that her father wouldn't approve of it._

_She was alone._

_Tears streamed down her face as she thought out her options, alone in the garden. Of any of them, she only wanted to run to her family, back to Icewind Dale, and curl up in her mother's comforting arms. Standing and gathering the corset that had fallen to the ground, she hastily made her way to the stables to have a stable hand ready her horse for travel._

_In her room, she penned a short note explaining that she was off for a short time to visit her family. With another glance, she was back down to the stables with a small bag of food stuffs, ready to leave all this behind. Coming to stand beside her horse, she tightened the laces of her corset before leaping onto the stallions back and going off into the night._

_Drizzt Do'Urden smiled as he followed his wife through the woods that surrounded their home. They had just finished their patrols for the area and were heading back home for a quiet night at home. They had not been waylaid by anything on the road or in the roads, and they viewed that as a good thing. His face became curious; however, as he noticed that his wife was crouched on the ground, looking at something in the soft undergrowth._

"_A horse passed through here, and whoever they were, they were in a hurry to get through these woods." He knelt down and inspected the tracks for himself._

"_You're right, and they're heading towards our home." He stood began running towards the house, Catti-brie close behind him._

_The sound of heart-wrenching sobs caught the both of them unawares as they came closer to their home, and Catti-brie darted ahead of him as they got closer, seeing the figure huddled against the front door. His eyes widened as he approached to find that the tiny figure curled like a child in his wife's arms was in fact their youngest child and only daughter. She looked haggard and weary, as though she had ridden for days without rest, and she probably had. She was speaking rapidly to her mother, speaking too softly for him to hear._

_After a while she leaned back against her mother, her small frame shaking violently. Catti-brie sighed before gently helping her stand and walk into the house, up the stairs. When Drizzt looked at her, confusion clear in his pale eyes, she only shook her head and quietly asked him to make the tea that provided the drinker with a long, dreamless sleep. He breathed deeply before heading to the kitchen to prepare it._

_About a half and hour later, the ranger walked up the stairs, a steaming mug grasped carefully in his hands. He went to the room at the end of the hall – it had been Aimee's room before she had left for Silverymoon. Looking in the doorway, he saw that his youngest was curled on the bed, her head resting in her mother's lap. Her tears seemed to have stopped, but soft sniffles and mewls could be heard and her small frame was still shaking._

"_I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," She kept whispering it under her breath, voice soft and broken. Catti-brie looked down at her sadly, stroking her hair and rubbing her back – as she had done when the young half-elf had been a little child. She gave her husband a grateful smile as he handed her the tea. He watched as she gently coaxed their daughter into drinking it. She handed the cup back to him as she continued her comforting administrations, waiting until the young woman had fallen asleep before tucking her into the bed and lightly kissing her forehead._

_Drizzt watched it all from the doorway, waiting for his wife to answer the questions that he had – and to tell him why Aimee had showed up on their doorstep so distraught and desperate. Catti-brie closed the door behind her with a sigh before turning to him with a look of sadness in her eyes._

"_Before I tell you anything, ye have to promise that ye'll not be going after Mikhail, or send Zak, yer father, or the twins after him."_

_The drow frowned. "Why would I …"_

"_She made me promise that I'd make ye promise before telling ye anything." Her eyes were sad, but serious. Sighing, the ranger nodded his acquiescence before letting her continue._

"_It seems that four and a half months ago, she and Mikhail married in secret, with yer father and Lady Alustriel as witnesses. Now, she's carrying his child, but he wants her to rid if it, as it will only get in the way of her duties as the Captain of Silverymoon's armies." She shook her head, running her fingers through her hair. "But, she doesn't want to kill the baby, but she knows, or so she says, the Mikhail will only deny that the child is his and will refuse to support her decision."_

_Drizzt let out a sharp breath through his nose. "And how can she ask me to not go after him? Or her brother's for that matter? They're more protective of her than I am, or her grandfather for that matter."_

_Catti-brie shook her head. "She loves him utterly, but I can see that she's confused. I think that it's a good thing that she's here."_

"_But what about her duties? What is going to happen about those? She's the captain of an army!"_

"_Send word to yer father, he'd probably be willing to retake his old position, if only temporarily." She leaned heavily against her husband. "She'll probably be staying here for a long time, and she'll need comfort. She's absolutely heart-broken, and it'll take a long time for her to recover from what has happened." Catti-brie looked wearily at the door of her daughter's room as she felt familiar arms wrap around her. "But still, it is hard to believe that the first time that she returns home in years has to be under these circumstances."_

Drizzt opened his eyes as he slowly moved his hands from Catti-brie's temples down to her shoulders. She was looking at him with the same sadness in her eyes as there had been in the vision. He sighed as he looked up into her eyes, a sadness awakening through his own. There was something about her that was somehow distant, and a thought flittered briefly through his head as to why.

"It was only a brief vision, Lady Love." His voice was soft as he reached up and lightly kissed the crown of her head. "It may or may not come to pass, but you have no reason to worry. If it does occur, it won't for several years. Worry not."

She bowed her head as he moved to sit next to her, his arm resting comfortingly around her shoulders. "I know, but it still hurts to see that she was so heart broken by someone that she loved so dearly."

Drizzt was silent for a long moment before responding, his voice soft. "It's hard to watch the people we love suffer, especially when we can do nothing to help them. The helplessness only makes it worse." Catti-brie looked up when he paused, wondering what he could possibly be referring too when the look in his eyes - pain and fear all at once - gave her the final clues that she needed. He was thinking of that instant in which he had found her captive in Kelnozz's arms. "But we should not be lingering on the past, which we shouldn't, we should only be waiting to see what happens in the future."

**A/N**  
I'm really sorry to leave you here... and this chapter really was kinda a filler (and an idea for another forgotten realms story)until the plot bunnies aren't so mad at me any more. **TT-TT** I don't know what's gotten onto them. And the updates won't be very fast, even though hockey is over, for three reasons.  
1. Finals are in two weeks, and i have a lot of make up work to do. .  
2. I'm drowning the amount of homework that I've had to do over the ;ast few weeks. TT.TT  
3. My friend and i started a webcomic and i'm the artist, so that will also be sucking up a lot of my time.  
Sessha is really sorry, and i will be updating whenever I get the chance. Please forgive me! **Bows at the readers  
**I also thank all of you that have reviewed! All of them are EXTREMELY appreciated! And please, if there is any criticism of the story, like spelling or reference mistakes, PLEASE TELL ME! THANK YOU!  
_-RangerDo'Urden_


	25. Winter Solstice Masquerade

**A/N **I had fun with this, and beware, Drizzt is a bit on the OOC side… -.-; Song is "Heaven's A Lie," by Lacuna Coil. As beautiful as it is, I didn't write it. p

**Chapter Twenty-Five – The Winter Solstice Masquerade**

He scowled faintly at the woman that sat on the other side of the table from him, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked into the damn-near pleading silver eyes. It was almost midwinter, with snow already falling lightlyoutside. His voice was firm as he answered the asked question.

"No."

Alustriel smiled faintly as she looked at the drow sitting across from her. They had been there nigh on two months, and this was one of the few things that she had asked of him. She had been asking him for weeks to attend the event, and each time he had adamantly refused with a faint scowl on his face.

"Please, Drizzt." She tilted her head, glad that no servants or other attendants were near to see her this way. "Please come! I assure you that both you and Catti-brie will have a splendid time! I have already commissioned the tailor that you prefer to make your costumes!"

The answer was the exact same, including the expression. "No."

"No one will recognize you with a mask! Please! It will be the last thing that I ask you to attend. Besides," she smiled, ready to set her plan in action. "I'm betting that if I tell Catti-brie about this event, she will be asking to come as well."

The drow's lavender eyes widened ever-so-slightly. Alustriel smiled – a response! – infinitely pleased with herself. Drizzt sighed, running slender fingers through the long locks of his snowy hair.

"Maybe. I'll discuss it with Cat before I tell you if we are coming or not."

An hour later, he came to her study, a somewhat annoyed expression on his face and an excited Catti-brie behind him.

"Alustriel, we will be attending the event, as you planned. Will you please arrange an appointment with the tailor that you commissioned?"

"You have an appointment arranged for tomorrow morning, in the shop, just after the sun rises." She responded without looking up, not wanting the ranger to see the pleased expression on her face. She also hoped that he didn't see the wink that Catti-brie cast over his shoulder.

Catti-brie smiled at the woman on that other side of the room as she held her arms out for measurements. The event would be in a few weeks, and she had yet to decide what her costume would be. Alustriel had come to watch her being measured, allowing the younger woman to throw ideas at her.

"What about a unicorn?" She asked, looking thoughtful. "Drizzt is always saying how beautiful they are. Not to mention, it would stand out among other things that people could be."

Alustriel shook her head. "No. Drizzt already told that tailor that he would be going as a unicorn." She chuckled at Catti-brie's raised eyebrow. "He said that the only way that he would go willingly would be if he went as something that suited him, rather than something rather out of the air."

"Then…" she thought for another moment, wincing for a second as a pin was poked painfully into her side. "Then how about I go as a fox?"

"I don't think that it suits you…" Alustriel shook her head with a shudder.

Catti-brie flinched. "Well, now that you put it that way…" she thought for another few moments. "What about some kind of bird?"

The ruler of Silverymoon brightened. "How about kind of tropical bird? Some of them are absolutely beautiful, and their colours will go well with your colouring."

Catti-brie thought for a moment longer before shaking her head. "No, as much as the idea sounds good, I'm not big on having feathers on my face, now that I think about it." She paused again to think as the tailor continued to measure her, draping swaths of fabric over her arms, testing the colour against her skin. An idea came to her suddenly. "What about a panther? Like, Guenhwyvar?"

Alustriel looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding. "I think that that would be a great idea Catti-brie. The black would not only contrast, it would compliment Drizzt's costume. It will be brilliant. I say that you go with that idea."

She smiled. "I will, and I'll see what he thinks about it." She smirked mischievously, wondering what her husband would think if he knew about what she had decided. Things had become easier over the months that they had been in Silverymoon, for both of them. At night, she still had nightmares and visions but at least they were lessening in their ferocity. It was easier for her also to spend time away from him, allowing him to converse in private with his father.

She had also been able to spend more time conversing with Alustriel than she had in the past. It was during one of their conversations that the idea with the Winter Solstice Masquerade had come up. They had created a plan that would allow them to get Drizzt to come somewhat willingly.

That had been the difficult part of the plan, but they had succeeded eventually.

Hopefully, they would be able to get him to actually wear the outfit that they were planning for him. They had both known that Drizzt would likely choose the unicorn as his costume idea, so they had set about planning a costume about a month ago, and had seen the tailor about making it – to which he readily agreed. The metal-smith had also been quite willing to make the specially designed mask – something that would require them making a casting of the upper half of the drow ranger's face.

"Do you think that he may suspect anything about our little plan?" Catti-brie asked quietly, stepping down from the pedestal. "If he does find out, he won't be very happy about it."

Alustriel only smiled. "Yes, but he's already agreed that both of you will be going to the masquerade. And, the ranger that I know won't go back on his word, as much as he doesn't like it."

Catti-brie fully agreed a small smile on her face as she walked out of the room, praying that Drizzt wouldn't figure anything out until after the masquerade. After all, she knew of a lot of people that would love to see Drizzt wearing the outfit that had been specially designed for him.

Not to forget, the mask in itself was incredibly expensive to make – more so than the circlet he had worn to the banquet last year – since they had had to call in one of the best dwarven jewel-smiths from quite a distance in order to fit the mask to his face perfectly. Of course, he likely wouldn't be told this, simply because he wouldn't like the fact that someone had paid such a large fee to pay for something that he would be wearing for – what would likely be now more than a night.

A few days before the ball, Alustriel called both Drizzt and Catti-brie into her study so that they could both watch Drizzt try on the mask. He looked suspiciously at them as Alustriel pulled the carefully wrapped package from behind her desk, a smile on her face as she handed it to the apprehensive ranger. He turned the package over in his hands, looking between the two women with one snow-white eyebrow raised.

"Is there something that I should know about?" He asked suspicion obvious in his lavender eyes. A chuckle from the other side of the room drew his attention and he looked surprised. Zaknafein walked forward, speaking in a broken combination of drow and common.

"Well, dos (you), try it on. Must be good." Drizzt scowled faintly at his father before unwrapping the mask. He gasped when he looked at the mithril object. He looked up at the faces of the other three in the room.

"And you are all expecting me to wear this?" He frowned at the affirmative nods that he received. He held it up from the packaging, looking at it as it shone faintly in the candlelight. He knew from the flawless craftsmanship that it must've been expensive to make.

"Well, try it on already!" Catti-brie smiled as she walked up to him, a smile on her face as she looked at the finished piece of work. Sighing, he placed the mask on his face, tying the seemingly delicate violet string in place behind his head, and when he looked up at the three others in the room, they had looks of amazement on their faces.

The dark ebon of his skin contrasted sharply with the brilliant pale silver of the shimmering mask. His eyes stood out from the exact eyeholes like pale, pale amethysts that were filled with the intelligence and wisdom that was granted with longer life and hardships. The mask only covered from the tip of his hairline to the lower ridges of his cheekbones, reaching the bottom tip of his nose. At the top centre of the forehead of the mask protruded a four-inch horn that was carved like that of a unicorn, and swirling black, gothicdesigns around the base of it.

"Well?" He asked, looking around at the shocked faces, eyes widening ever-so-slightly. "Is it really that bad?"

Catti-brie shook her head, eyes slightly wide. "Absolutely not. Alustriel, you were right – it is a perfect fit – especially for his personality." She smiled at her husband. "The unicorn suits you perfectly."

From the other side of the room, Zaknafein laughed at the deep red haze that visibly darkened on the ebon-skinned elf's cheekbones.

Catti-brie sighed as she looked herself up and down in the mirror. In a few minutes, she would be going to the entrance of the hall – where she would meet Drizzt – so that they could be announced upon their entrance into the banquet hall. The ranger had been adamantly against it, but in the end, Alustriel's stubborn insistence had won out.

Their entrance would be announced.

Serenity and Gabriel had come all the way from their home to attend the celebration – Serenity had been the one that had helped her set her hair into the intricate loops and braids that it had been twisted into. She was still amazed at the gown that the tailor had designed for her over the course of a month and she hoped that her husband's thoughts were similar.

She walked out of the room and down the hall, not pausing to look at the decorations that had been hung throughout Alustriel's home, as she had already done that earlier. She smiled faintly as she saw the figure cloaked in dark violet standing near the banquet-hall entrance and peering nervously between the curtains. When he turned to face her, Catti-brie could've sworn that her heart stopped when she took a good look at the formalwear that had been made for him.

The outer tunic and leggings seemed to be made of mithril thread, and even shone in the soft candle light, accentuating the contours of his slender figure. The under-tunic was made of pale lavender that matched his eye colour perfectly, with a high collar that framed his ebon-skinned face. The sleeves of the outer tunic were long enough to cover his hands – but she saw that when he moved them, there was a slit on either side that allowed both hands complete freedom of movement – something that he had no doubt requested. Both tunics were left unbuttoned to a point halfway down his chest, where a modest mithril pendant of a unicorn head was tucked next to his normal scrimshaw one.

One thing that Catti-brie did find odd however was that a collar that was roughly three centimetres wide rested about his slender neck, the mithril metal carved with appeared to be a forest scene with a unicorn hidden amongst the trees. The boots were made of white leather. The tops reached past his knees, but were folded-over, were held in place – beneath the loose ends – with a strip of white leather and a mithril buckle. The belt too, was white leather, and held both of his long knives within reach of his hands.

The cloak in itself was made of a velvet clothe that was a dark, rich hue of violet. The covered his right shoulder, and yet didn't cover the left. The clasp that held it together at his left shoulder was a unicorn's head, made of elven craftsmanship in brilliantly shining mithril. He smiled faintly when he saw her, taking her hands in his and kissing her lightly.

"You look absolutely beautiful tonight Cat." And indeed she did.

The dress itself was made of midnight black silk that flowed around her legs like water – the hem just brushing the floor. All across the midnight fabric, small black stones sparkled and glistened. The bodice of the dress pulled tightly against her delicate, feminine curves, the neck dipping a graceful v and low enough in the back to show the low edge of her spine.

Immediately he could tell that something had been done so that the scars from her captivity were sufficiently covered so that no one would see them. Against the darker clothe, her skin was pale – almost deathly – but her smile put some colour in her cheeks. Her long hair was pulled back from her face in a series of complicated twists and braids that left most of it flowing down her back in soft auburn waves that contrasted starkly with the inky black of the dress.

The mask that she wore with her own costume fit to her face was made of a stiff black material. It reached back far enough that cat ears similar to those on Guenhwyvar's head perched atop of hers. Being that the bottom edge came just below her eyes, there were black lines that had been drawn on either side of her face with black kohl – like the whiskers of a cat. At her throat was a necklace made of darkened steel that glistened with bright rubies – the necklace matched drooping earrings and jingling bracelets.

Smiling, Catti-brie raised her hands to lightly cup his face – careful not to leave any fingerprints on the shining mithril mask. "And you're looking quite handsome yourself _Ranger _Do'Urden. I'm just wondering when such a collar-like necklace came to be part of your costume."

He frowned slightly but she could see the smile that danced in his pale eyes. When he turned to look again through the curtains, she got a better look at what was in his hair. Ribbons of violet and silver were twirled and mingled amongst the snow-white locks that fell in loose waves down his back all the way to the lower curve of his buttocks (or at least where she estimated itto be)– a stark contrast to the dark violet of the cloak.

He looked at her curiously as she fingered one of the locks. "And may I ask, who convinced you to let them put these decorative ribbons in your hair?"

Drizzt scowled faintly as he continued to look into the crowd. "Serenity did, with the backing of my father, her husband, and Alustriel. I have no idea why, but it seems as if _everyone_ in this bloody place wishes for me to attend this, and I have yet to figure out the reason why."

Catti-brie only smiled slightly. She had had no idea either, only that Alustriel had wanted the both of them to come to the masquerade – saying something about a gift for the both of them and a brief mentioning of someone by the name of 'Rëváy.' But, she had thought of it as a chance for the both of them to attend something as a couple – something that they hadn't exactly done before – that is, if you didn't count their own wedding.

She smiled as she heard someone whisper through the curtains that they were about to be announced. She looped her hand through Drizzt's arm, resting her hand lightly on his wrist. Looking at him, she could see the nervousness flashing through his eyes as the tension sang through the muscles beneath her hand. It had been a long time since she had seen him this nervous. Catching his attention, she smiled gently at him, hoping to ease of his nerved before they stepped out onto the stairs that led down into the room. A loud, magically enhanced voice called out as the curtain was pulled from either side.

"Now entering are Ranger Drizzt Do'Urden, son of Zaknafein, and his wife, Catti-brie, adopted daughter of the King of Mithril Hall, Bruenor Battlehammer."

Catti-brie smiled slightly as she saw the slight smile on Drizzt's face as they walked down the sloping stairs. They made their way through the middle of the room to stand before the dais where Alustriel was sitting at her throne, dressed all in white with a mask of swan feathers. Standing a little to the left and just behind her chair with his hands resting lightly on the hilts of his sabres and his whip only inches from the hilts was Zaknafein. He was dressed in almost the exact manner as his son – only in black, darkened steel, iron, and amber, rather than the silver, white, mithril, and violet that was Drizzt's apparent colour scheme.

"Welcome Ranger Do'Urden," she smiled, looking at the both of them, and nodding in approval at Drizzt's clothing, "and Lady Catti-brie. I hope you enjoy the Winter Solstice Masquerade as my guests."

Alustriel gestured to a round table at the far corner of the room, where she and those whom she had selected would be sitting during the evening meal. With a smile and bow, both of them made their way between the tables, towards the one at the back corner. Gasps and stares met them as they walked, most of them from ladies of the court – those aimed at Drizzt – and Catti-brie could see the looks in their eyes, telling her _exactly_ what they wanted to do with him.

When they reached the tables, there were already four people seated there, Gabriel and Serenity included. Both of the Luchiélt royalty looked like something out of fairytale. Both of them wore masks lined with feathers that matched the wings on their backs. Gabriel was dressed in Luchién-styled robes of white and violet – the darker colour setting off the dark amethyst of his eyes. Serenity herself was dressed in similar robes of gold and green, her hair done in a similar twist of braids to what she had done with Catti-brie's hair.

She smiled at the two approached the table, taking seats near them. "You both look so wonderful tonight. I wonder, Ranger Do'Urden, if you noticed the looks that the ladies of the court were giving you tonight?"

"Aye," he sighed, "that I did, and I wish not to read any of their thoughts again, thank you."

Catti-brie chuckled at the slightly sickened expression on her husband's face. She sat down at his other side, where the chair remained empty besides her. She talked quietly with Serenity, inquiring about small things, such as to how Adrian was doing. With a smile, the Luchiélt woman spoke of how the now 16-month-old was babbling and talking away, though he was learning how to actually talk to people, even if it were only simple phrases. She could tell that both of little Adrian's parents were proud – especially since he was the apple of their eye.

A few minutes later, the empty seat next to her was taken by a handsome man that looked to be somewhere in his late twenties, early thirties, with long, blue black hair, and intelligent, dark eyes. He smiled at her politely through the eyes of his crimson red mask. What he was dressed as, she did not know, only that it seemed to suit him. The cloak was a dark, midnight black that shimmered oddly, as if there was a spell placed over it. His tunic and leggings were a deep, crimson red that matched his mask, and his black boots and belt were tooled with silver etchings that shimmered in the candlelight. What surprised her most was the site of two short, yellowed horns coming from either side of his forehead, both attached directly to his mask.

He bowed politely, taking her hand and lightly kissing the back of it, his eyes sparkling with his smile. "Ah, Lady Catti-brie, it is an honour to meet you at last. I have heard _so_ much about you from Lady Alustriel."

Catti-brie smiled, shaking her head slightly. "It is wonderful to meet you as well, even if I do not know your name."

He gasped theatrically, pressing his hands to his chest. "Oh! Forgive me my dear Lady! I forgot to introduce myself! I am Rëváy, one of Lady Alustriel's researchers, sorcerers, and historians, and I _humbly_ ask for your forgiveness for not having introduced myself sooner, but I feel as if I could not help but forget, in light of such beauty as for which the stars have no match!"

Catti-brie chuckled slightly at his antics, colour blossoming across her cheeks – she could not see the faint jealous light that was making its way into her husband's eyes. "Of course you are forgiven, my Lord Rëváy, it was an honest mistake on your part, I suppose."

He smiled and bowed, sweeping his cloak out in a flare that accentuated the movement, and making it look comically exaggerated. "I am surely glad milady! And I beg of you, call me not Lord, call me Rëváy, for I say a single drop of your blood carries far more nobility than I carry in my entire body!"

She blushed at his words – never had she heard such, well, that many compliments in only a few breaths – and he continued to do it. "Thank you, Rëváy, and I beg you, call me not 'milady,' and cease with the compliments, for you will have me as red as your costume by the end of the night!"

His smile only widened as he bowed again. "Than, fair Catti-brie, at least give me the honour of having the seat beside you so that we may have conversation for the duration of the evening meal?"

Catti-brie smiled, giggling softly. "Of course, I see no reason not to."

With yet another theatrical bow, he sat in the chair on her left side, a wide grin on his face. After about a half an hour, Alustriel made her way to the table, having finally welcomed the last of the guests.

"Ah, Catti-brie, I see that you have met my Lord Rëváy." Alustriel chuckled as she walked towards the table, Zaknafein still following behind her like a faithful guard. Rëváy turned and bowed to the Lady of Silverymoon, who only chuckled and shook her head. "I'm glad that the both of you were able to join us tonight. It is an honour to have you both here."

Gabriel laughed as Drizzt rolled his eyes slightly. "As much as I am glad to be here, Alustriel."

"Well than, I hope that the rest of the evening proves to be just as wonderful, if not more so." Smiling, she nodded to the side, where the servants were waiting to pour wine and serve the meal. The Lady of Silverymoon watched, and waited patiently until everyone in attendance had been served. The meals were simple fare, suited to fit those of the different races and levels of nobility as she saw fit. When all were served, she stood, lifting her glass, making a toast in her clear voice.

"This toast, I make in honour of the coming winter. May there be peace in coming spring between the races, and amongst the cities and towns. May there be love and friendship between enemies and rivals, and may all wounds," she looked briefly and both Drizzt and Catti-brie out of the corner of her eye, "be they physical or emotional, heal with time, as they should. Now! Let us all enjoy this meal!"

Cheers sprang from the other tables in the hall and Rëváy gave an enthusiastic call from his place at the table that made the women giggle and the males roll their eyes. Alustriel laughed as she sat down. It was going to be a _very_ interesting evening.

Throughout the meal, Rëváy continued to try and ask Drizzt about the abilities that he had gained over the last months. Catti-brie giggled, noting that her husband was pointedly ignoring the researcher, which annoyed him to no end. Alustriel explained with a chuckled, the historian had been trying to coax a conversation out of the drow for week with little success, except to be either pointedly ignored, or cursed at in drow.

When asked why, the ranger simply shrugged and muttered something in his native language that caused Zaknafein, who was in the process of taking a sip of wine, to snort most of it all over the white table clothes, laughing and gagging. Drizzt merely raised an eyebrow at his father's behaviour. With all the other people at the table looking at him funny, the Weapons Master translated.

"He said that he'd prefer not to have to shove either Icingdeath or Twinkle up his arse, or castrate him to silence him if he gossiped about it." He wiped wine from his mouth using a napkin, still chuckling.

Rëváy laughed with him, though his face had paled considerably. "And I am very glad that I will have neither unpleasant torture done for my curiosity is now officially gone."

Drizzt only rolled his eyes, as faint smile on his face as he moved the food around his plate, not really eating anything. He knew that Rëváy wouldn't give up his questions – he knew the sorcerer better than that. He would be asking about the abilities once again tomorrow.

And he would once again try ignoring him or cursing at him.

When everyone had finished their meals and the plates had been cleared by the servants, Alustriel, with the help of both Drizzt and Rëváy, she cleared the tables away to create a large dance floor for the guests to dance upon while a band of musicians played a variety of music in the corner. After this had been done, she smiled at the both of them before announcing that the dancing would be beginning.

With a small smile on his face, Drizzt turned to where he had last seen Catti-brie, hoping to ask her for a dance before the evening got quite a bit more into the festivities – only to find that she was gone. He blushed, scowling faintly as he saw her walking towards the dance floor with her hand resting lightly on Rëváy's arm. His eyes narrowed as watched them begin dancing amongst the other couples that were also enjoying themselves.

He sighed and leaned back against the table, picking up his one cup of wine and taking a slight sip from it, watch as the couples danced, laughing merrily at the faster-paced music. He knew that Rëváy had a way with the ladies, but he had never thought that the sorcerer would have the gall to go after another man's wife! He had thought that he would be able to dance with her at least once before any other men claimed her for the night. So deep was the ranger in his thoughts that he didn't notice the other person come up behind him and lay a hand on his shoulder.

"Dos'ph naak'e. (You're jealous.)" Drizzt jumped, startled as he turned to look into smiling amber orbs. "Usstan shlu'ta kyorl ol wun dosst solen vel'drav dos kyorl ilta. (I can see it in your eyes while you watch her.)"

The ranger scowled faintly. "Usstan tlun naut naak'e. (I am not jealous.) Usstan fridj talinth nindel ol zhahus kke nindel uk paken tir xuil ilta p'los belbaun ilta m'ranndii natha mayar whol l'ust lil'alure. (I just think that it was rude that he waltzed (took) off with her before giving her husband a chance for the first dance.)"

Zaknafein smiled, chuckling. "Izil usstan telanthus p'los -- dos'ph naak'e. (As I said before -- you're jealous.)"

Drizzt's scowl deepened as he looked at the smiling face of his father, knowing that he was right – and stubbornly denying it once more. "Usstan tlun naut. (I am not.)"

"Dos phuul lueth dos zhaun ol. (You are and you know it.)" It was Zaknafein's turn to scowl. "Ji vrine'winith rezlet ol. (So stop denying (denial) it.)"

Sighing at the headache that was beginning to form, Drizzt rubbed his fingers against his temples, also reverting back to the common tongue. "Alright, I am. Are you happy now?"

Zaknafein grinned. "Yes, now, why don't you go over there and ask her for a dance? Then you'll be able to get her away from that annoying human." He turned to look at the dancers, looking at his son out of the corners of his eyes, clasping his hand behind his back. "Besides, you'll be able to show her everything that Lady Alustriel showed you about dancing…"

Drizzt looked at him suspiciously with a tinge of pink on his cheeks. "How did you know that she's been teaching me how to dance?"

Zaknafein turned to him with a look of feigned innocence. "She told me. How else would I know? As her new personal guard, I have to know where she is at all times."

Sighing, Drizzt walked off, leaving a smirking Weapons Master behind him. He would ask Catti-brie would dance with him, and hopefully he would be able to keep her away from the human for the rest of the night – he didn't like the vibe that he got from the sorcerer.

Catti-brie chuckled as Rëváy once again whispered something in her ear, commenting on the ridiculous dress that one of the noble women was wearing. He had been making comments like throughout the dance, and she was enjoying them. She had to admit that the historian was charming and handsome, but she constantly felt like someone was watching her. Rëváy noticed this and once again leaned down to whisper something in her ear, his voice surprisingly soft and serious.

"He's been watching us since the dancing began, I'm afraid." He made a subtle motion with his head that made her look towards where her husband was standing, talking with his father and watching them. "And something tells me that he's jealous."

Catti-brie raised an eyebrow. "And why do you think that?"

He grinned, twirling her around as the music played. "Because the only word that I recognize and know from the drow language is 'naak'e,' and that means jealous. His father's been telling him that he's just jealous, and he's been denying it, though I think that he knows that it's true."

Catti-brie frowned. "And how do you know this? I certainly can't tell from here."

Rëváy only grinned. "If there's one thing that I excel at, it's lip-reading, and being able to tell one language from another. Not to mention from the expression on his face, it was fairly obvious."

As they moved on the dance floor, they were turned so that she could look at her husband and see for herself. And – as she could see – the historian was right, and the Drizzt appeared to be watching her. For some reason though, she found it odd – normally he didn't mind when she was talking to others. But when she remembered what Alustriel said about how Rëváy had been bothering him about his abilities for weeks, she sort of understood why – and the historian hadn't even really given her a chance to ask Drizzt to dance before dragging her to the dance floor.

She had to admit that he had been a bit rude, especially since the few that knew that Drizzt had gained such rare and powerful abilities knew that he didn't particularly care to talk about them. He preferred to keep it a secret, since he didn't want enemies to come after him just to test those abilities.

She lost site of him a little while later as the dancing moved them further into the crowd and farther away from the edges of the hall. To make it look like she was having a good time, she continued laughing faintly at the remarks that Rëváy whispered into her ear, though after seeing the look on her husband's face, she suddenly didn't feel like dancing. At least, not with the man she was currently with.

Minutes passed before the song finally seemed to end, and with a small smile on her face, she stepped away from her dance partner who waltzed away to find another partner after she declined. She jumped slightly when someone tapped her on the shoulder lightly, catching her attention. She turned and smiled into his chuckling lavender eyes.

"May I have this dance?" Drizzt smiled and bowed slightly as he reached out to grasp her hand. She smiled and gave a small curtsy.

"Of course."

A faint blush appeared on her cheeks as he wrapped his long slender fingers and wrapped them about her smaller ones, the other hand resting at the small of her back – against the bare flesh that the low backline allowed. With a small smile, she rested her free hand on his shoulder, relaxing at the feel of the muscles beneath the shimmering clothe. He smiled at her, gracing her temple with a feathery soft kiss that made her smile.

The next song that the musicians started to play was a soft, slow one, played with soft flutes and violins. After a while, Catti-brie gave into temptation – the music having seemed similar to a lullaby in her mind – and rested her head against the curve of his shoulder, sighing softly in contentment. Drizzt smiled and rested his chin on top of her head, slowly moving them in circles to keep them from running into other couples on the dancefloor. A female elf stood on the playing stage, her sweet voice singing a bittersweet melody.

"_Oh no  
__Here it is again  
__I need to know  
__When I fall into decay_

"_Something wrong  
__With every plan of my life  
__I didn't really notice that you've been there_

"_Dolefully desired  
__Destiny of a lie_

"_Set me free  
__Your heaven's a lie  
__Set me free with your love  
__Set me free."_

Catti-brie looked up at her husband's profile as they moved around the dance floor, both of them lost in the other's presence and listening to the soft music. The words were sad, but she somehow found herself relating to them. Blinking back memories and tears, the dwarven-raised woman buried her face in her husband's shoulder. Neither noticed the two pairs of eyes that were watching them.

"_Oh no  
__Here it is again  
__Why did I choose to betray you_

"_Something wrong  
__With all the plans of my life  
__I didn't realize that you've been there_

"_Dolefully desired  
__Destiny of a lie_

"_Set me free  
__Your heaven's a lie  
__Set me free with you love  
__Set me free_

"_Set me free your heaven's a lie  
__Set me free with you love  
__Set me free."_

Alustriel smiled over Zaknafein's shoulder as she watched the couple dancing in slow circles. His amber eyes moved over her face as he continued to watch.

"Did it work?" He asked quietly as they spun around. "Are they dancing together?"

She nodded, looking into the eyes of her partner in crime. "Of course it did, and they both look so happy."

He smiled brilliantly. "Finally. It was about time that those two got out and had some fun. All they seemed to do was sulk around the castle like little lizards that have been kicked and sent to the stable without their treats, and I was getting sick of the lacking fights that he continued to give me. I know that he's better than that. He's the best bloody fighter on all of Torril!"

Alustriel chuckled at the Weapons Master's short rant as she rested her head on his shoulder. She still had that announcement to make before the night was over, yet she was beginning to become tired from the magic that she had projected towards people, and to amplify the instruments and voices of the singers. She gave a small sigh as she settled against the finely muscled chest of her newly assigned guard.

It would be a long evening.

The dancing went on long into the night, with couples dancing and laughing. Catti-brie would laugh as she watched her husband being swarmed with ladies of the court, all biding for his attention – and wishes to either dance with him, or to take him to their beds. She laughed at the red blush that she could see from beneath his mithril mask.

She danced with him, amazed at the dances the Alustriel had taught him. While she had trouble with some of the complicated steps, with his natural dexterity and agility, she could tell that it was far easier for him. She smiled, laughing as he spun her around in beat to one of the faster songs. The spin ended with her back pressed against his chest – bare flesh to soft, shimmering silk.

"That, I think," he whispered into her ear, "is the most fun that I have ever had at a public event."

Catti-brie giggled as she felt his hands wrap around her waist, pulling her more tightly against his chest. She gasped softly as he gently brushed her hair aside and brushed his lips against the back of her neck, sending a familiar shiver down her spine. She turned her head to look back at him, but was surprised as he kissed her fully from behind – something that he hadn't done since before she had been captured.

She melted against him – glad that they were in a corner of the room where they remained unnoticed – and tangled her hand in his wavy white locks. She felt his tongue darted across her lips, asking permission for entrance. A moan was stifled against his lips as his tongue touched hers, then continued to explore the caverns of her mouth. She clung to him as they pulled apart – her knees having become too jelly-like to hold her up any longer.

He caught hold of her as she adhered to him. He chuckled softly, his pale lavender eyes smiling brightly behind his mask. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" He asked, sounding breathless.

Catti-brie only nodded, not quite trusting her voice. After a few minutes, she caught her breath and looked into his smiling eyes with a smile of her own. "It has been a while." She smiled as she brushed her fingers across the skin just underneath the strange collar that he wore as part of his costume. A wicked smile crossed her face as she reached up to speak into his ear. "And I think that we should continue this later, ranger mine."

Laughing, he turned her so that she was facing him, lightly brushing his lips against her jaw. "And why should we wait."

She blushed furiously at his suggestion, looking up at him in shock – only to see that he was joking. "How could you even—"

"Can I have everyone's attention please?"

The lovers looked up as Alustriel stood upon the dais of her throne, speaking to gather the attention of all those that had congregated. Standing a little behind and to the left, was Zaknafein, whilst on her other side, Rëváy stood, beaming at the crowd. She smiled as she looked upon the two that had hidden themselves in the far corner of the room – likely trying to be undisturbed.

Well, that was something that would likely have to be put aside – at least until she had finished her announcement.

"First of all, I would like to thank all of you for coming to tonight's Winter Solstice Masquerade." She smiled faintly as cheers filled the room, and raised her hand for silence after a few moments. "Of all the guests invited, I believe that there was only one that I actually had to convince to come here, and if I know this _ranger_" – she stressed the word, looking towards where Drizzt and Catti-brie were standing in the corner – "as well as I do, than he is probably wondering why I was so persistent on his attendance." She gestured to her right, signalling for Rëváy to step forward. He did so with a bow and a grin. "My personal historian, sorcerer, and researcher, Lord Rëváy, will explain the reasons by telling of a task that I assigned him about this time last year."

"Thank you, milady." He smiled and turned to the crowd, his voice being magically projected throughout the large hall. "Last winter Lady Alustriel assigned me a task that I was only to happy to accept – she wanted me to either find, or create, a spell that would allow lovers with a vast difference in life span – say an elf and a human – to either lengthen one life, or shorten the other, so that they would have ample time with the other.

"I spent months searching for a solution before I gave up using the books on magic that I had, and instead travelled to other cities to study in their libraries. It took me many months of travelling before I finally found a solution to the problem." Catti-brie watched as his eyes darted to them briefly before turning back to the crowd. "The solution that I found was in the most unlikely of places – the Harkle Family Home. Those who know the Harkle family know that they are known for their crazy experiments with magic, and their many inventions of spells.

"One spell in particular was the one that I had been searching for." He pulled from behind his back, a thick book that looked old and worn, with a black leather cover covered in arcane writing. "In this book, I found a spell that would lengthen the lifespan of a human with a longer-lived lover. But" – he looked again at the couple in the corner with something flashing through his intelligent dark eyes – "it requires a sacrifice on behalf of the lover that is longer-lived."

Catti-brie looked back to look at her husband as she felt his arms tighten around her waist. She saw that he was listening intently to what Rëváy was talking about, his brow slightly furrowed behind his mask as his lavender eyes carefully examined the magic-user's face.

"The spell requires the elf, for example, to give up a century of their own life, to allow the human to extend their youth by another full century." Rëváy looked around at the gasping crowd, his eyes filled with an unknown emotion. "But, their love must be true, else both of them will perish upon the completion of the spell, and their souls damned to eternity on the demon plane."

With a smile on his face, be bowed to the crowd before turning back to Alustriel, who had been waiting patiently for him to finish. "I will now turn you all over to our fair lady, so that she may better explain her reasons for assigning me such a task as this."

She smiled at her researcher. She knew that he had thrown his all into the task – to find away from the grief of the death of his wife shortly before she had assigned it to him. "Thank you, Lord Rëváy."

Alustriel turned to speak to the gathered nobles, her eyes briefly resting on the couple in the corner before a small smile graced her face. "I asked him to find this spell, because I know of two friends that are in such a situation. I know that they have both been through difficult times, and wish to give them this chance." She smiled as she turned to the couple sitting in the corner, her eyes sparkling as she noted the blush the had crossed Catti-brie's cheeks, and knew that, though it wasn't clearly visible, there was bound to be a blush on Drizzt's cheeks as well. "Will Ranger Do'Urden and his wife, Lady Catti-brie come up here so that my wizard may bestow the first part of this spell upon you?"

Taking her hand, Drizzt led her through the shocked crowd of noblemen and women. A few of the ladies were apparently surprised that he was indeed married – and were clearly disappointed that that kept him from their bed chambers. When they reached the front of the dais, he bowed slightly, his eyes still looking up and trying to read what was in her sparkling silver eyes.

Alustriel chuckled as she watched him looking at her, a smile on her face as she heard the snicker from the drow guard the she had standing behind her, and likely with a smirk on his face – he had known what was going on since Alustriel had met him, since that was the reason behind their midnight walks through the gardens. "Drizzt Do'Urden," she smiled, "you know that there is absolutely no need for such a formality."

His brow knitted behind his mask. "Formality itself can only be met with more formality."

Alustriel chuckled again, nodding. "That is only true." She walked down the stairs so that she stood in front of him and Catti-brie, a sad smile on her face. "Now, my dear friend, will you accept my gift and allow Rëváy to place the first part of this spell upon the both of you."

Drizzt looked back at Catti-brie, that same question lingering in the eyes that were peering through those exacting eyeholes in the mithril mask. A small smile graced her face as she looked at him and nodded. She wanted to take this chance, even if it meant her death, because it meant that, if successful, she could spend more than just the thirty years she had assumed with her beloved. Withholding a sigh, Drizzt turned back to the Lady of Silverymoon and nodded – whatever the consequences would be, a full century of being able to live with his Catti-brie would be well worth it.

The gathered nobles then watched as Rëváy stepped forward, his hands glowing red with the beginnings of the spell. He raised them up so that his hands lingered before either of them, the glow of power becoming brighter. He slowly began chanting with eyes closed – the soft mutterings of the arcane language growing louder with each repeat of the phrase in the strange tongue of the sorcerers.

Bowing his head at the strange feeling, Drizzt closed his eyes and wrapped his fingers around Catti-brie's hand. He didn't know what exactly was going to happen, or what the spell would include. He clenched his other hand into a tight fist, his nails leaving shallow gouges as he felt the magic overwhelm him. It was a strange feeling, but not one that was unwelcome.

When the chanted words slowly ceased, he opened his eyes and looked up into the smiling faces of Rëváy, Alustriel, and his father. Catti-brie smiled at him from behind and he smiled pleasantly back at her. He bowed at the waist and Catti-brie curtsied behind him.

"Thank you, Alustriel." He said softly, looking up to meet her eyes.

Smiling faintly, the Lady of Silverymoon walked down the stairs, Zaknafein following her patiently. "You are quite welcome, my dear friend." She stopped, standing only scant inches in front of him, and bending to whisper something in his ear for only him to hear. When she was finished, Drizzt's pale eyes widened slightly and his cheeks darkened with embarrassment – something that peaked Catti-brie's curiosity.

"I will milady." She listened as he whispered quietly back to the noblewoman before turning back to his wife with a sheepish smile. He held out his hand and she took it with a smile. The blushed deepened as he leaned over and whispered something in her ear that caused her to blush furiously. Alustriel laughed at the looks on their faces but made no other comment as the festivities ended, and she watched the couple walk out into the corridor and towards their room.

"Have fun, both of you."

Catti-brie smiled as she watched Drizzt carefully lock the door, also muttering a few words that placed magical wards behind the metal ones. His face had remained flushed with embarrassed heat until they had entered their room, seeming to prepare to bed down for the night – but she knew that there were other plans that had been set into motion.

They had to finish the ritual that Rëváy had only started.

Drizzt had explained it to her as they had made their way into their room after the masquerade. The ritual included – though he hadn't known this until Rëváy had explained this, coming into his mind to do so – a physical bonding that required a smaller, binding, blood ritual.

With a sigh, the young woman removed her mask, setting it down on the dresser. She had started to remove the jewellery that she was wearing when the rustling of clothe caught her attention and she looked behind her. Drizzt had apparently finished setting up the wards and had removed his cloak in a rush of violet and silver velvet. His boots were next and she giggled as he wiggled his toes against the cool marble of the floor. He smiled faintly as her soft laughter as he reached behind his head to carefully untie the ribbons that held the mask in place.

Beneath the mithril mask, enchanted silver kohl had been added around his already magnificent eyes, having had been added to add to the illusion that the mask was more than just a decoration that was on his face for the night.

Catti-brie smiled as he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her from behind, burying his face in her hair and sighing softly in contentment. She shivered faintly as his velvet-soft lips brushed against her neck after he had moved her hair over her shoulder.

"It's been a while, that it has." His words were a mere whisper against the bare flesh of her neck as he reached forward with a finger to turn her face towards him. She closed he eyes as he lightly brushed his lips across hers. When she felt him deepening the kiss ever so slowly, his hand running gently down her arm, his touch feather-light and hardly there, she turned around, fully facing him and wrapping her arms around his neck.

When his tongue brushed lightly across her lips, she opened her mouth to him, revelling in the feeling of their tongues entwined. Slowly, she began unfastening the small mithril clasps that held his inner- and outer-tunics in place, moving her hand slowly up the smooth ebon skin if his abdomen and chest.

She gasped and paused for the merest of moments as his lips moved away from hers to start moving slowly across her cheek to suckle gently at the place were her jaw met her neck, running his tongue lightly over the shell of her ear. Whimpering softly, she continued moving her hands over his bare chest and over his shoulder and arms, allowing the shimmering, silken material to fall to the stone floor.

Drizzt's hands moved to the backs of her shoulders, slowly pulling the dress down over her chest to her waist, alternating between sucking and lightly biting her neck. She squirmed under his hands and gentle touch, moaning softly. A smile touched his lips at her gasp of surprise when he gently lowered her down onto the feather-soft mattress, and her soft moans and his warm lips made their way down to her chest to pay attention to the soft mounds of flesh.

Catti-brie's fingers entangled in his long hair, clutched as she gasped and moaned at the attention that he was giving her. With his knees straddling her lower legs, he slowly began to lower the rest of the dress, unclasping the tiny silver clasps and pulling her completely free of the clothe confines.

Her sapphire eyes flew open as she felt one of his hands running with feather-light touches up the inside of her thigh, igniting a fire within her that hadn't been lit since before her abduction. She cried out softly as those careful fingers touched the apex between her thighs. Soft cries rattled her throat as his moist tongue licked a wet line down her belly as he settled himself between her legs, pale eyes rolled up to gauge her reactions and pleasures.

She gasped and moaned as he continued his pleasurable administrations. After what seemed merely a few moments, she felt his lips back upon hers, warm and eager. Unable to stand the pressure any more, she reached down to the waist of his silvery leggings, and pulled them down far enough for him to kick them off while wrapping one arm around her shoulders and pressing their chests together. She wrapped her legs around his slender waist while he sheathed himself inside of her.

Her cries were stifled against his shoulder as her nails raked against his back hard enough to draw faint traces of blood. It had been so long since she had felt like this that she positively revelled in the attention that he was attending to her body, her mind, her heart, and her soul – his soft whispers of 'I love you' in her ear as he lavished attention on her physically.

Hours later the pair lay together on their bed with Drizzt spooning her from behind. Their left and right wrists, respectively, rested together in front of them, the blood from the slashes intermingling with the final part of the spell finally completed. Catti-brie smiled as she looked upon the limbs, seeing the severe contrast between the two tones of skin – pale flesh and the dark ebon highlighted with blues and violets. Drizzt had already fallen asleep, his other hand resting lightly on her hip.

She smiled as she fell asleep, feeling the bond between them grow as the spell completed its course.

**End.**

Finally! I have finished this chapter! 23 pages people! But, don't worry, its not over yet! I actually have an epilogue planned out. But, there is another special feature to this chapter... FANART! Done by yours truly! Here are the links and descriptions (just remove parethesis):

Drizzt's profile Masquerade  
www(.)deviantart(.)com(/)deviation(/)17699341

Rëváy from the Masquerade  
www(.)deviantart(.)com(/)deviation(/)17993126

More realistic Drizzt w/o the mask  
www(.)deviantart(.)com(/)deviation(/)18026939

Drizzt in general  
www(.)deviantart(.)com(/)deviation(/)18201599

Half Drizzt/ Half Catti-brie Masquerade  
www(.)deviantart(.)com(/)deviation(/)21925712

There you go! and I hope that you leavea comment or something, if you can, and enjoy them! And Reviews are welcome, thank you to all who reviewed the last chapter!  
_--RangerDo'Urden_


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